Hogwarts AC 196
by Ajedrez
Summary: xover GW and Harry Potter. A war has ended, another is brewing. The pilots find themselves drawn into the fight against Youknowwho. And Harry surely needs every helping hand available. Standard disclaimers apply.
1. End and Beginning

** Hogwarts AC 196**

**AN:** _This is definitely AU, as it's obviously a x-over of GW and HP. I'll have to admit that, since I don't own a TV (nor any of the mangas), I only have limited knowledge of GW, most of it originating from fanfics. And I probably won't stick to the HP canon. So I'm claiming artistic licence with both and you'll just have to accept it. No flames about that- they would just be fed to Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback. Constructive criticism welcome, though. Please tell me, should I continue or is this a hopeless effort. Thanks._

**Disclaimer:** I own neither HP nor GW. I only borrow the characters to amuse myself and maybe entertain others without the intention of making money.

**Chapter 1:** End and Beginning

It seemed even the nature of the blue planet knew what was happening. Everything was eerily quiet, nothing moved. Earth's human population had retreated into their homes. It was the year AC 195 and humanity was awaiting the outcome of the space battle that could seal Earth's fate.

The Granger household including some friends assembled in the small living room and followed the live coverage of what was supposed to be the final battle in the so-called "war to end all wars". God knew how they had managed to have cameras on site, but all gazes were fixed intently on the screen and the fighting mechas that were shown.  
The fear among the small group of people was almost tangible. Sitting on the floor, the Grangers' daughter Hermione huddled together with her friends Harry and Ron, unwilling to believe things should end this way. It was the first time ever they had had the possibility to spend part of the Christmas holidays together at her parents' house, finally Harry had been given permission by Headmaster Dumbledore and Ron could be convinced to get to know Muggle life. And now this.

Sure, the war had been playing some role in their lives, but never had the threat been so acutely felt. This was the "ultimate battle", after all. If the Libra had its way, Earth was doomed. If the battle fortress impacted on earth, the consequences would equal the impact of a large asteroid. Most of the European population would be wiped out on the very instant, the rest of the world would suffer from the effects of a dust-darkened sky and acid rain.  
  
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At Howarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the staff and several other members of the magical community had gathered to await the outcome of the war following the events in the magical version of a TV, especially created for this occasion.  
Minerva McGonagall felt she could not move from sheer desperation. She was unable to understand how Albus Dumbledore, who was sitting next to her, could appear so relaxed. A few chairs to her other side, however, Remus Lupin seemed to share her anxiety. He looked paler than ever and cuddled a certain familiar black dog that seemed under shock, as far as a dog's body language could convey that. And for once even Severus Snape could not hide how much all this was affecting him. He was biting his lower lip and his eyes kept darting from the images of the battle to the others present in the hall.

"I don't understand how the magical community could let things get this far. How could the wizarding world allow this to happen? If only we had joined forces, there must have been a way to prevent this…," Professor McGonagall said softly.

"I'm afraid it couldn't be helped," Dumbledore remarked. "Witches and wizards are by far too self-centred to take into account how the Muggle world affects them. After Voldemort was thought to be defeated, most may have considered everything else a minor threat."

"And of course hardly any wizard ventured to the colonies, so this war was 'none of our business'," snorted Snape.

"Well, it is too late now, anyway. All we can do is hope…," Lupin cut in quietly, his gaze fixed on the happenings in space.  
  
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Watching a space ship and the battle fortress collide, the friends at the Grangers' house realized with rising panic that these could be their last hours together, the last hours of their lives. They held on to each other's hands, unable to tear their eyes away from the screen.

A wave of explosions lit the space where the battle took place. Suddenly the Libra seemed to plummet towards Earth. Groans and cries of horror could be heard among the audiences all over the world. The images on Muggle TV blurred. The spectators could barely make out how the Gundams continued fighting. Then a massive explosion filled the screens and the TV sets offered clear images again.  
Before relief could make its way to consciousness, however, the viewers witnessed horror-stricken how a huge chunk of the Libra kept tumbling towards Earth.  
A strange calm overcame Hermione. She suddenly felt certain that this was the end. That section of the Libra was still big enough to devastate large parts of Europe and affect the whole planet. After all Voldemort had done, she never expected to die this way. In another pointless war. At least this would also stop any further attempts of good old Voldemort, she thought with a grim sense of humour.

Then, all of a sudden, the cameras showed one of the Gundams gaining on that chunk, as both entered the atmosphere. The surfaces caught fire and small parts were breaking off because they entered in too steep an angle. Yet the winged Gundam kept going until it could get a clear shot with its beam cannon. The rather small-looking mecha facing up against the enormous section of the Libra seemed a ridiculous undertaking, nevertheless…

As soon as the horrible threat vanished into thin air, the Grangers' living room resounded of happiness and relief. Tears flowed freely and they all embraced in one big pile. Only when she felt her friends hug her, did Hermione register what happened. She slowly came out of her daze and joined the impromptu celebration. However, her heart went out to those who had risked their lives in this battle and the image of that winged Gundam falling down towards Earth would remain forever imprinted on her memory…  
  
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Far away, up in space, four Gundam pilots watched on in horror as their comrade took on the near impossible task of saving Earth from doom… and succeeded. Shouts of joy blocked the intercom. Soon their elation gave way to worry. The Gundam in question _ was _ severely damaged.

"01, status report. Come on, 01!" Wufei's concern could be discerned clearly when he uttered the order.

"Dammit, 01, say something!" came Duo's voice through the intercom.

A cackling sound could be heard - then: "Wing (…) damaged (…) to Earth (…) back (…) see y(…) Over."

This was followed by a puzzled silence on the four pilots' part. Then Duo piped up "Well, that was neat. - So, what now? Return to base?"  
And the pilots decided to return to their secret base, certain that their friend would be alright, and overjoyed that this time around the war might really be over, once and for all…

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TBC?

Feel free to review.


	2. Peace Time Interlude

** Hogwarts AC 196**

**Disclaimer:** Standard disclaimers apply. 

**Chapter 2:** Peace Time Interlude

A few days after the decisive battle found a young boy with unruly, chocolate coloured hair in New Zealand, not far off from civilization, but not too close to the next town. The Wing pilot had started repairs on his damaged Gundam, but when peace agreements had been confirmed, he had just hidden the mecha so no one else would find it, and considered what to do next.

First, he would meet up with his fellow pilots and take it from there. They probably had more definite concepts of what to do, now that peace had been achieved. And they knew better how to blend in with civilians. Maybe he'd finally be able to show his human side, just like them. His friends…  
He'd probably travel around for a while, being far too restless to settle down. Then, he might try to get some formal education, though being stuck in some boring school to learn what he already knew, did not seem too appealing. Maybe…

A beeping sound interrupted his thoughts and brought his attention to his laptop. 'Maybe I'll finally be able to leave that damned machine behind,' he thought grumbling, though nobody would have guessed this train of thoughts from his blank expression.

To his surprise he found a message from J, ordering him to meet him ASAP. Annoyed he declined, pointing out that his services were no longer required. Before long, a new message from the abhorred man popped up: "Services required for one last mission. Carry out mission and you are free to go."

Sighing Heero gathered his things. He knew he could not disobey, being too much the Perfect Soldier he had been trained to be. And if J promised to leave him alone after that… He could finally be free of the man who had made his life hell. So what did one last mission matter?

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As soon as he approached the lab where he was supposed to meet J, Heero knew something was wrong. His every sense told him this was a trap. Still, he could not ignore his orders - and J had promised, hadn't he? He passed a sloppy security check (so unlike J) and entered… 

"There you are," J welcomed him with an insincere smile on his lips. "It's been a long time." 

Heero said nothing, checking his surroundings for any hint as to what to expect, while J was looking him over from head to toe, a strange glint in his eyes.

"As to be expected. Still no people skills," J murmured, fully intending to let the young pilot hear this. It did get Heero's attention, though he showed no sign of acknowledgement. 

"You see, this new mission is somewhat … special. To be honest, I don't believe you are fit for peace time society. You are nothing but a weapon." The boy felt like he had been punched in the stomach, but he kept silent.

"Therefore the mission actually consists of retraining, so you can achieve at least some semblance of humanity." Seeing his pupil open his mouth, J continued with more vehemence. "You are a soldier with no purpose in peace. You are actually a threat to the peace, as long as you're not reconditioned. As you don't seem to agree, you'll have to regard this as an order, soldier. Your mission is to be retrained. Did you think your _ comrades _ could help you get used to civilian life? Ridiculous! Do you honestly believe they considered you more than a tool for their warfare? You are a weapon, soldier! A killing machine. And as such…"

"No…" came the quiet reply. "I…"

"This is an order, 01. Insubordination will be punished severely."

Beneath his carefully void expression, Heero's thoughts were warring. No, he would never endanger the peace he fought for, he did not need retraining. He… had to follow his orders. What if J was right?

Before he could reach a decision, things were taken out of his hands. J kept coming closer, some assistants, he must have alerted, closed in from the sides.

Warily Heero backed away until his shoulders met with the cold wall. He could easily knock out the assistants, but he knew he could not fight J. Something in his subconscious made him unable to do so. So he remained where he was, transfixed to the spot, until J towered over him.

"So you want to do it the hard way… I expected that much."

And J plunged the syringe he carried with him into the crook of Heero's neck. The boy did not utter a sound nor make a move in his defence. The drug was custom-made to break through his high tolerance and took effect fast. When his knees gave out and his consciousness slipped, Heero could still hear J's evil laughter ringing in his ears.  
"Retraining, hm, really…," he chuckled. His foul breath tingling soft skin, as he picked up the limp body. "As I said, this is your last mission - you just might have difficulties bringing it to an end… my creation… much too valuable… You are… Mine…"  
Then nothing.

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Several months later, another boy with dark unruly hair received his annual letter from school at his relatives' house in Privet Drive. As usual the letter was delivered by owl. Yet this time, it held a few surprises.  
The boy, widely known as the Boy who lived, was informed that, for the first time, students from the colonies would enter the school. Since they had a lot of catching up to do, the school year would start one week early and the first three weeks were meant to get to know each other and give the new students a crash course in magic. To this end, additional teaching staff would be hired to accommodate their needs, while the older Hogwarts' students were to tutor the new arrivals, thus having an opportunity to revise as well.

Surprisingly, or maybe not considering his situation, Harry Potter had no problem with going back to school early. He never enjoyed the summer breaks, having to stay at the Dursleys'. Although this summer had been better than others - the end of the war had his uncle considerably more relaxed - he was glad to see his friends again. And of course he was looking forward to meeting the new students from the colonies.

The only drawback was that the wizarding world was inevitably linked with Lord Voldemort. But as long as he could keep his nightmares at bay and his thoughts closed off from his enemy…   
Last night he had had another of those strange dreams. Unlike the year before, he was pretty sure they did not reflect what was actually happening, but they inflicted a sense of foreboding. He could only make out dark shadows, but he heard Voldemort's voice murmuring, yet clearly: "Muggle machinery and magic, hm, the possibilities… sheer power to overcome Hogwarts' defences…" The dreadful sound of his chuckle had woken him up, drenched in sweat. 

Shaking off the rising dark feeling, Harry sent Hedwig to fix a date when he would meet up with Hermione and Ron at Diagon Alley to get their supplies for the new school year. By the time of her return, he would have a letter ready, telling Sirius and Remus of his unease.

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TBC?

** AN: ** _ I won't make a habit of answering all reviews (unless it's necessary), but thanks go to my very first reviewers ** Dark Heart Wolf ** and ** yamie yukyuu **. It is really encouraging to get some response and I hope I can keep you interested. I might not be able to update very fast, though. Oh, and could somebody tell me how I can avoid messing up with my spacing?_  
  
This chapter was actually quite a bit longer, but I had problems uploading it. So if you want to read on, the next chapter should already be there. Unfortunately I couldn't divide it in satisfactory way. Well, just have a look... 

Feedback welcome. 


	3. Peace Time Interlude Part II

** Hogwarts AC 196**

**Disclaimer:** Standard disclaimers apply. 

**Chapter 2:** Peace Time Interlude (Part II)

On another planet, three owls delivered a similar letter each to a huge, palace-like estate. As to be expected, this was the home of one Quatre Raberba Winner, famous for being the heir to the Winner fortune. Only a handful of people knew that he was the offspring of an old wizard family. Even less known was the fact that he had been one of the Gundam pilots, as all five had managed to keep their identities secret.

When the end of the war had been confirmed, the pilots 02 through 05 had dedicated several days to the search for their missing comrade. They could, however, only establish that there was no indication a Gundam had crashed onto Earth recently, which assured them 01 was alright. Apart from that, they could find no trace hinting to his whereabouts.  
Knowing for certain, that they would not be able to find their friend, as long as he did not want to be found, they could only hope he would finally show up on their doorstep. With a good explanation, at that. In the course of their search, Duo in particular had become royally pissed at Heero's inconsiderate vanishing act. He had considered himself as the Wing pilot's best friend, but obviously his efforts hadn't broken through the other's Gundamium shell, after all. All the pilots felt like their friendship had been rejected. And it hurt. In the end, the four friends had decided to get on with their lives.

Quatre had resumed his formal education in order to be able to take over the family business. Trowa took up his work in the circus again, dividing his time between Catherine's trailer and Quatre's estate. Duo worked for Howard, but never managed to keep away from his friends for long - out of fear of losing them, too, as Quatre suspected. So it happened quite often that the three of them stayed at the Winner home together. Wufei, on the other hand, had gone off trying to find himself, as he put it. Although he travelled a lot, he regularly gave them a call, brief as they usually were.

Quatre was having breakfast with Trowa and Duo, who were once again visiting their second home, when his oldest sister Iria burst into the dining room, a huge grin on her face. "You'll never guess what I happened to find on the doorstep." Receiving only puzzled stares and no response, she muttered sulkily: "Oh well, you're so no fun…" With these words she handed out the owl-delivered letters embossed with the Hogwarts emblem.

Quatre's eyes lit up, while his friends' expressions remained confused. Of course, Quatre knew the meaning of this. His two oldest sisters had been the last members of the Winner family to be accepted to Hogwarts. They had still been living on Earth, when they turned eleven. The other siblings had always envied them, but now… Surely this could only mean one thing. His sister nudged him on to read the letter.

(…)  
_ We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

As this is the first time colonial students enter the school, the term begins one week early, i.e. on August 24th. The first three weeks will provide the new students with catch up lessons supported by older Hogwarts students acting as tutors. At the end of the third week their skills will be assessed in order to place them in the appropriate year.

All colonial students are expected to meet at the L1 Space Port on August 22nd, at 10.00 am. A group of teachers will collect them at Terminal B. On the 23rd, there will be a trip to Diagon Alley to acquire the necessary supplies. You find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Yours Sincerely,   
Professor M. McGonagall  
_ Deputy Headmistress _

"This is a joke, right?" Duo broke the silence. Quatre and Iria exchanged looks and prepared to explain everything to the two sceptical ex-pilots. "You know," Iria said, "maybe I should just show them…"

Iria usually refrained from using magic out of consideration for her siblings. So now she enjoyed being able to put her abilities to good use. After a practical demonstration including flying coffee mugs and tea pots turning into animated miniature Gundams, the magical newbies could not wait to hear more about the school and everything magic-related. Duo went virtually hyper considering the possibilities the use of magic offered. What fun it would be to attend Hogwarts, compared to the dreary normal schools. Soon, however, they were interrupted by a servant, informing them of a call on the vid-phone.

An annoyed-looking Wufei asked without preliminaries: "What kind of joke is this? Do you think it is funny to send me such a crazy letter?" Quatre just tilted his head with a smile. "Iria, I think another demonstration is due." And so the friends enjoyed another performance of Iria's skills, that left the Asian ex-pilot gaping open-mouthed and after which plans for a Hogwarts reunion were made.

The future looked a lot more interesting now. If only they had known _ how _ interesting things would become…

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TBC?

** AN: ** _ See last chapter. Sorry for the mess up, but I really don't know what went wrong. Thanks for reading._  
  
Feedback welcome. 


	4. Lost boys

** Hogwarts AC 196**

** AN: ** _ Special reminder for this chapter: This fic is rated R. And I mean it._  
  
**Disclaimer:** Once and for all, I don't own anything. If I did... Let's not get into this.  For this and future chapters: Standard disclaimers apply. 

**Chapter 4:** Lost Boys

_ Drifting... Floating in and out of consciousness… Head felt…dizzy… Had they…drugged him?… The sound of a door cracking open... Heavy boots?… His hands… he couldn't feel… numb… His shoulders…aching… Rough wall scraping bare skin… His head lolled uncontrollably… Mouth dry… He tried to open his eyes… blindfold… What di… His mind clouded again… darkness reclaimed him…_

He came to as his hip joints plopped… his body jerked involuntarily… Dull pain… And the eyes… he could sense the eyes…wandering… he tensed… No!!! not again - a silent scream in his head… Muffled sounds… the drugs?… Hands… touching… teasing… No room to… Harsh voices… who?… Rough hands… all over… bruising… squeezing…

His stomach clenched … His head was thrown back… punches… a loud crack… Nausea… coppery taste… Felt like… flames grazing his skin… a blade?… criss cross… neck… chest… abdomen… His skin was on fire… Consciousness slipping…  
Noooo!!!… His insides burning… Unable to…move… A searing pain up his spine… Rope scraping his throat… Air!!!… Liquid trickling down his thighs… Struggle for…breath… Ripping pain… again… The rope tightened… And again… He … Again… was… And again… suffocating… And... The darkness closed in… Ag…  
Nothingness…  
  
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Remus Lupin let out a frustrated sigh. Bad enough that he had accepted to tutor the colonial students without telling Sirius first. And now he was sitting here in Professor McGonagall's office, because the Deputy Headmistress had called for him on whatever kind of business, while Sirius had gone off to 12 Grimmauld Place, sulking.

Remus felt a pang of guilt. He should have been more considerate. Ever since Sirius had miraculously come back from behind the veiled archway in the Department of Mysteries, he had strange mood-swings. Although he had refused to talk about it, he, Remus, knew that Sirius still hadn't fully recovered from the experience and he should have taken into account that Padfoot would not feel at ease, always having to hide at Hogwarts. And now he should actually calm his angry mate, instead of waiting here…

He just hoped they hadn't decided that the return of the werewolf might upset the students' parents too much, after all. And that they did not just want to discuss his lessons. 

Remus needn't have worried. The Head of the Gryffindor House actually came with an interesting request.

"As you know, Remus, we usually send out a school letter to each future pupil and wait for their replies. If there is no response, we try several letters more. And if everything fails, that normally only happens with Muggle-born children, Hagrid or trained Muggle liaison witches and wizards are sent to the students in question."

Minerva paused briefly and Remus nodded signalling he was familiar with these procedures. So she continued with a deep sigh.

"However, now there is this one colonial student who didn't reply to nine letters we sent him. We can hardly send Hagrid who has never in his life left Europe. And the Muggle liaison staff seemed very reluctant to work in space…"

"So you're asking me to go and find your missing student?" Remus asked with light amusement apparent in his voice.

"Right. Missing being the right term to describe him, as we don't know his exact whereabouts… ," Minerva looked slightly embarrassed.

"So how am I going to find him, then? It's not as if …"

"Look here," she interrupted, motioning him to a small device on her desk that looked similar to a Muggle compass. "This is a rather new, and not really tried, magical invention called 'Trackometer'. It should lead you to the boy."

"Why me?" Lupin asked with mock despair.

"Because you know your way in the Muggle world and we trust you to handle the situation with the required delicacy." The jovial reply came swiftly. "Now would you do this?"

After a few more explanations concerning the Trackometer and a short discussion about the MO [1], Remus Lupin agreed.  
  
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Sirius was definitely not happy, when he apparated to the front door of 12 Grimmauld Place. Grumbling he entered his house. Luckily nobody seemed to be around. He went to his bedroom and flopped onto the bed.

Granted, maybe he _ was _ overreacting just a little. But still… Somehow it had stung when Remus had told him the news. He knew he should be happy for his mate - teaching was his vocation - but he felt left out, now that Remus had found his place at Hogwarts again. And the two of them could only be together secretly. And _ they _ were already putting a claim on Remus' time, time that could - and should - be spent with him, Sirius, he thought sulkily. Well, maybe that was a little immature. On second thought, staying at Hogwarts he could at least keep an eye on Harry and his friends…

Since he had come back from the episode at the Department of Mysteries, he felt somewhat lost. He had discovered some interesting new abilities, but then again, he felt the burden of the secret he couldn't tell anybody. His thoughts went back… behind the veil. The whispers that could be heard were indeed uttered by people who had left the world of the living. Yet the archway was not, by definition, a gate to the realm of the dead. In fact, it led to the Realm of the Waiting…

A knock on the door interrupted Sirius thoughts. His tired grey eyes met the twinkling orbs of Albus Dumbledore. "There you are, Sirius. I have been looking for you. This," handing over a piece of parchment, "is a letter from Remus who has been sent on a mission by Minerva. And once you finished reading, please come down. I have to give you some details for a mission of your own."

Sirius eyed him suspiciously. The old man was meddling again, wasn't he? Giving him some task to keep him from sulking. Oh, well…  
  
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The door opened to a cold and bare cell-like room. A sharp gasp could be heard.

_ He heard something… a gasp… Pain shot through his body… telling him he was still alive. And clearing his head. _

A bucket filled with water was set down heavily. Water splashed on the tiles.

"Shit, man! Look at that. They did 'm real bad… Shi-it. And we hafta clean 'm up again… I told the boss he wasn't ready yet… but no… The lil' guy heals too fast for his own good… That's why he always gets the rough material… He doesn't even belong to the boss, ya know. Just on loan from some other sick pervert… 'needs ta be broken', phh..."

"Uhm, Rick, would you stop rambling…" His companion cut in. "The boy looks… uh,… dead."

"Fuck. What are ya sayin?"

_'Dead?… No, not yet. But maybe…' Thoughts were running wild through his head. 'I'll give you the best dying man performance ever. I hope I'm fast enough. I have to pull this off. Shit, I hope I can move at all. This could be my only chance. - Well, let the show begin.' _

The two goons slowly and carefully approached the body lying in a puddle of what looked suspiciously like blood. There was no perceptible respiration. They exchanged panic-stricken looks and the one called Rick reached out to check the pulse.

"Feels clammy. An' his pulse is really slow. Fuck, grab the keys for the cuffs. We'll get him to the sick bay…" He cut through the ropes binding the legs of the prisoner.

The other came back with the keys jangling. "Man, why the heck do they shackle him to the wall?" He fumbled with the locks. "He's just a kid, after all. And Gundamium, no less. Do they think he's superm…"

He never got to finish his sentence. Two bodies hit the floor with a hollow thud. The boy removed his blindfold and blinked into the light. He swayed slightly, but forced himself to move quickly. He stripped the smaller of the two men of his pants and shirt. After the painful process of putting on the clothes that hang loose from his body, he moved. Cautiously, he stepped out on the hallway.

Perfect body control had got him this far. Instinct told him were to turn. Experience enabled him to remain invisible in the dark corridors. Adrenalin kept him going.

He reached a window leading out to the backyard, slipped out unnoticed and vanished into the shadows of the dirty alleys. And then he ran …  
  
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Remus Lupin was dead on his feet. No surprise there. The last full moon had only been two days ago. And now he stood here in this... this slum of a shabby city on L2. He really hoped the boy was worth the trouble. What was he doing in such an area? It was a mystery to Remus.

Following the directions given by the only partly trustworthy Trackometer (the device sometimes needed strong encouragement, such as severe shaking, to keep working), he continued his search. Only to stop a few streets further on. The Trackometer had led him directly to a scene of fire and was now spinning like mad. This could only mean that some strong magical influx was setting it off course. Apparently somebody had set the building on fire using magic. Could it…? No, he lacked the necessary training. Bloody bad luck. He just hoped the boy wasn't caught in the raging blaze… No, the wolf's senses told him there was nobody left in the building.

As the police tried to disperse the crowd of onlookers, he caught some snatches of conversation.

"… punishment for those sinners…"

"Damn. I was looking forward to a session with that exotic one the guys were talking about. Supposed to be quite the looker and able to take a lot, if you know what I mean..."

"Looks like the end of the 'Velvet Cage'..."

"Yeah, but you know this place. One whorehouse gone, another pops up."

The young professor was disgusted. This was hardly the place where he would find the boy. He would have to come back later.  
  
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The next morning found Remus Lupin back on the site of the fire, but this time his little guide seemed to work properly and led him past the ruins. He kept walking through filthy alleys for quite some time and he was already starting to doubt the Trackometer again, when he spotted a medium-sized tawny owl. That could well be a Hogwarts owl…  
He followed the owl with his eyes and, after thoroughly checking his surroundings, apparated on the roof where it headed to. There was some kind of shack that looked about just as grimy as the rest of this area. He heard two owls hooting.  
Carefully he opened the door to the shack. The inside was dark, a jumble of cardboard boxes and scrap. In the darkest corner he could make out a huddled bundle. He brought out his wand. "Lumos."

Appalled he realized that his search had come to an end. There, on a makeshift bed of cardboard, covered by a paper-thin blanket full of holes, lay a small boy covered in filth. The circumstances, however, were not what shocked Remus. It was the state the boy was in.  
The untidy mop of dark hair could not hide the bags under the boy's eyes, nor his hollow cheeks. As far as the werewolf could see, the boy was painfully thin which was only underlined by his way too large clothes. There were dark bruises and festering wounds marring the unnaturally pale skin. He could smell a lot of blood and something else he did not want to think about. Goodness, he hoped he wasn't too late…

A sudden movement caught his eye. Next to the boy's bare feet, the tawny owl ruffled its feathers. And yes, there were two of the famous Hogwarts letters. Obviously at least one of them had been read. Maybe it had been the first to actually reach the boy.

Now back to the task at hand. How could he best help the child? He looked back at the boy. Startling he noticed that two narrowed deep blue eyes had been watching him all along, warily. 

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[1] just in case: MO = modus operandi

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TBC?

** AN: ** _ Thanks to my reviewers. Hope you liked it. I have some important exams coming up, so I might not be able to update for about six weeks, unless my addiction for fanfiction is stronger._  
  
Feedback appreciated.   
  



	5. Scars

** Hogwarts AC 196**

** AN: ** _ I'm not really satisfied with this chapter, but since I actually have better, uh, let's say more pressing things to do, I'm bringing it out anyway to get it off my back. The only thing I can say in my defense: it's a transitional chapter. Let me know what you think._  
  
**Disclaimer:** For the very last time, I don't own anything. See summary and previous chapters. There you have it >sob 

**Chapter 5:** Scars

Deer caught in the headlights. The saying suddenly came to his mind. At the same time Remus somehow knew it was not appropriate. This was a severely abused child, yes, tense and ready to bolt, maybe, panicking, no. Something told him, however, he had to do this the right way, before he lost the boy.

"Hey there."

What an opening, he thought to himself. The other did not react. Remus moved forwards, but stopped immediately. He had not even seen him stir, yet the boy now supported his upper body with his right elbow, holding a penknife in his left hand. Ostentatiously, but seemingly relaxed. His face showed no emotion, but his actions and those intense eyes spoke of immense distrust. And although he looked about to collapse, he apparently was not willing to go down without a fight. Remus could not help admiring the spirit of the teen before him.

_ 'We trust you to handle the situation with the required delicacy.' _ Ha, nothing could have prepared him for this. A different approach, then.

"I see you got your Hogwarts letter."

A flicker of surprise? If there was, it was gone as fast as it came. The boy's right arm started to tremble visibly. He would have to work fast, before the boy passed out on him. He did not want him to feel at his mercy, pressured. The boy had to know what was happening to him. Remus knew exactly how dreadful complete helplessness was.

"Listen, I am not here to hurt you. I was sent by Hogwarts to find out why you failed to answer the letters. I certainly did not expect to find you in this state, but I want to help you, alright?"  
He dared to move forward. The boy was obviously exhausted and lay down again, still alert, though. His eyes were fixed on the wand in the other's hands.

A hoarse voice, barely more than a whisper, asked: "So this is no illusion?"

A relieved sigh on the werewolf's side - this was a breakthrough. "No. It is real. But before we discuss the existence of magic, I would strongly advise medical treatment of your condition."  
He edged closer. The boy sat up abruptly. "No…," a coughing fit racked his entire body. "…hospitals…"

Remus removed his jacket and wrapped it around the teen who was shivering violently by now. The boy flinched, but made no further move to get away. A good sign. Remus wondered shortly what made him refuse the help of a normal hospital, but then again he might have trouble explaining how he had come across a child in such a state.  
What to do? He could heal some wounds, but he was no Mediwizard and the boy needed qualified treatment, if possible by yesterday. St. Mungo's, it seemed, would not find the approval of his charge. Poppy Pomfrey was the answer. Yet there still remained a problem.

"If you allow me, I will do this my way." He gave a flick with his wand.

Empty eyes stared at him for several seconds. Then the boy seemed to decide he had nothing to lose and gave a barely perceptible nod.

Remus cast a strengthening spell to take care of the most urgent need, while considering his options. Making sure not to startle the teen and not to intrude too much into his personal space, he gently took his hand. It would be awfully risky and strenuous to apparate from the colony to Earth, and it could only be done if the place of destination was very familiar. In order to get the boy into the capable hands of Hogwarts' nurse as fast as possible, however, it was the only way. Since it was impossible to apparate into Hogwarts, Remus opted for the next best thing. His own little cottage. And off they went…  
  
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A loud groan could be heard from the Winner estate's large living-room, as Iria fell into an armchair. It was fun to see Duo and Quatre all excited about going to Hogwarts, behaving like kids on the day before Christmas. However, it was also quite tiring having to answer all their questions about anything and everything related to the school or magic in general at least five times. She began to look forward to the day of their departure. Another four weeks - god! At least Trowa was as calm as ever.

"This is ridiculous!" Well, judging from this outburst on his part, she could be wrong.

"Have you read the newspaper? Earth is putting all Gundam pilots on trial for allegations of war crimes." Trowa looked utterly bewildered.

"What?!" came the instinctive reaction from Duo. He grabbed the paper. "We saved their asses and now this."

"How do they plan to do this, if they don't even know who you are?" Iria asked.

"Well, they are trying us in absence, that's how. Probably they already have the sentence ready and hope we just show up before our executioners. No way…"

"I mean, what could we say? It was a war and we did what we had to do…" Quatre trailed off with a haunted look in his eyes.

Trowa pulled him into a hug. "Don't worry. Even if they found us guilty. They don't know our identities. Let's just go to this Hogwarts school and forget the trial."

And that was their final decision. The atmosphere in the Winner household became considerably less cheerful, though, making Iria regret her wish for more quiet.  
  
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It was an extremely exhausted young professor who apparated in his home. Realizing that his young charge had lost consciousness, he placed the boy on his battered couch. The horror he had felt when he first saw the boy returned with a vengeance. The teen weighed hardly more than a small child and when he withdrew from the couch, his own clothes were stained in red and his hands were bloody.

Not wanting to lose any more time, he used a highly illegal connection from his fireplace to the Floo Network to contact Poppy Pomfrey who, sensing the urgency, came over immediately. The school nurse paled noticeably once she laid eyes on her patient, but she set off to treat him with her usual efficiency and without losing a word.

Remus, in the meantime, cleaned himself up and sent a message to McGonagall. Trusting Poppy to take care of the boy, he sat down at his kitchen table, buried his head in his arms and closed his eyes.

... 

The werewolf only realized he had fallen asleep, when he was woken by someone clearing their throat. He sat up groggily and was met with the sight of McGonagall by his side.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I just had to come by, after I received your note. Tea?" She flicked her wand over his teapot and sat down with him. "Well, Poppy is still busy cleaning up the boy. So tell me what happened."

Pulling himself together, he related how he had found the boy. The ever present stern look on the Deputy Headmistress's face was replaced by concern. "How horrible. Let's see what Poppy has to say."

Hogwarts' nurse was very tired, physically and mentally. Gratefully accepting a cup of tea, she reported her patient's state.

"He's undernourished, dehydrated and suffers from hypothermia. High fever. Several broken bones, lacerations, cuts and bruises. Internal bleeding... He was brutally…, you know,…" She trailed off. The others could see that there were tears forming in her eyes. With very serious expressions they nodded their understanding.

"There are marks of strangulation around his neck. It looks like he was not simply abused, but tortured." Taking a deep breath she continued. "I put him in a magical coma that should last three days and help him heal. I couldn't treat all his wounds at once, that would be a major strain for his body, but I eased the brunt of it. And I can't undo the effects of his malnutrition from one moment to the next. I gave him a restorative potion, but he will just need a lot of time to fully recover physically. As for the scars on the soul… " She cast a doubtful glance on her patient. "It's actually a miracle he's still alive. He must have an enormous strength of will."

"Will he be able to make it to the beginning of the term?" Minerva asked hesitantly.

"Hard to say. But if it is possible, I would advise that he stay here until he is healed. I don't think it's wise to move him."

Remus nodded. "He can stay here. Considering his obvious distrust towards people, it's probably for the best if he sees a familiar face when he wakes up, anyway." _ Hopefully Sirius wouldn't mind. He would not be able to cope with taking care of an injured boy  and  an upset Padfoot. _

"It's settled, then." Minerva agreed. "I'll tell Sirius about it, when he gets back to Headquarters. As for your expenses, Hogwarts will compensate." Then, mumbling. "I can't imagine the kid has anyone to turn to…"  
  
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Days passed. And everyday anew, Remus Lupin was astonished by his charge. It started when the boy came to after two days instead of the predicted three. He did not make a sound or indicate otherwise that he was awake. Remus only realized it, when he found blue eyes watching him.

It was Remus who then felt the need to break the silence. However, he soon learned that he would only have one-sided conversations. He could barely get the teen to confirm that, corresponding to the little information McGonagall had had, he went by the name of Heero Yuy. Most of the time, he only received a very revealing "hn" for an answer, unless it was not just a nod or a shake of the head.

Heero never lost a word if he hurt nor gave any indication of being in pain. His wounds seemed to heal remarkably fast, even considering the magical treatment they had received. The school nurse, like Remus, was amazed to see her patient's progress. If Heero was surprised by this or other signs of magic in the Lupin household, he did not show. He seemed uneasy when he realized they had removed his clothes, but once he had received a fitting set of clothes out of Poppy's supplies, he seemed to adapt to his new surroundings very well. 

Yet, Remus was concerned by the lack of responsiveness which seemed to grow the more his charge recovered. Soon, however, observation led him to the conclusion that the boy's behaviour was not a sign of apathy due to his traumatizing experiences in the L2 slums.  
He realized that Heero was just very reserved by nature and that his impassiveness was nothing but a mask over which he had regained control once he was better. It was a means of self-protection, though against what the werewolf could only guess. Whenever he tried to coax information about Heero's past out of him, he was closed off immediately. Questions about the recent events that had led to his injuries were ignored completely or met with an icy glare that made him shiver. _ No child should act like this. _

At first it was difficult to cope with the silence the boy emanated, but after he had grown accustomed to it, Remus no longer felt uncomfortable. He even came to like the quiet presence of the boy, though he still found the void expression disturbing. The werewolf wondered what could have wounded a child's psyche so that it developed this kind of personality, but, as the days went by, he was quite certain that he would never know. He was sure that Heero did need help - it was simply impossible that he could just forget what he'd been through - maybe the company of the other children at Hogwarts could work miracles, or could at least achieve more than he did...

As soon as he thought the boy was up to it, he gave him textbooks for the first years to introduce him to the unfamiliar world of magic and keep him occupied while he had to remain in his provisional bed. To the young professor's surprise, they did not occupy him for long. One day he came back from a rather stormy visit to Sirius to find his charge going through his bookshelf, although he should have been confined to the bed.  
Interestingly, Heero was willing to go through the school material with him, although he had very few questions. It became obvious that he was not only a fast reader, but also possessed a photographic memory and a sharp mind. He absorbed everything Remus gave him to read and expressed well reflected views, in his usual blunt way, when asked.

The werewolf was glad to see some spark of light in these age-old eyes not befitting a child. Apparently Heero loved to learn and was fascinated by his discoveries in the magical field. Unable to test his skills without a wand, he even became one of two modern-day Hogwarts students to actually have read _Hogwarts - A History _.  
  
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Harry was sitting on a bench outside the Weasley home, discussing the arrival of colonial students with Ron and Hermione. It had been a spontaneous decision to stay at the Burrow for the last weeks of the summer vacation, instead of just meeting in Diagon Alley.

"Do you think there will be a lot of them? I mean, if there are no schools of wizardry on the colonies, there can't be too many, right?" Ron thought aloud.

"We'll just have to wait and see. But you have to remember that the other schools like Beauxbatons and Durmstrang still won't accept colonial students, so they are all coming to Hogwarts… I just hope there won't be trouble because of some prejudices…" Hermione replied. 

"I guess,…" Harry broke off, when a small owl landed in his lap. "Hey, that looks like a letter from Sirius."

Harry lost no time and read it immediately. "You won't believe it. Sirius says, Remus will be one of those additional teachers and he'll take along his 'loyal dog Snuffles'!" he told the others with a huge smile that was soon mirrored on their faces. "He's looking forward to seeing us at Hogwarts."

Harry did not tell, however, that his godfather seemed concerned about his recurring dreams. And that he advised him to talk to Dumbledore if it happened again. No need to worry his friends who by now had taken up their old topic again. And no need to recall the dream he had the night before…

_ Black fog swirled before his eyes… suddenly the blurry image of what looked like a… a dungeon… and a laboratory of sorts… two dark figures… their backs turned to him… again fog… suddenly a green lightning… Voldemorts evil laughter…_

His scar had hurt again when he woke up. He shook his head slightly to get rid of this particular memory and tried to concentrate on his friends' conversation again.  
  
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Sirius could not suppress his anger. He had just been on another wild-goose chase for Dumbledore and now Remus was here, telling him about _ the boy _.

He was acting childish but he had been looking forward to spending some quality time with his mate and now Remus wouldn't leave his cottage for long and asked him, Sirius, not to come over for the time being because - whatever, he hadn't really been listening that far.

"So now you're putting that brat before me?"

Remus was flabbergasted. "Sirius, what are you talking about? You should have seen the kid. He really needs…"

"Yeah, I'm sure. You don't even know him. What if he's a criminal?"

"Don't be ridiculous…"

"And why couldn't you just leave him to St. Mungo's or even Poppy? You know, I think you just want to prove something to the community, but tell you what - they don't care what good a werewolf does. And what will you do about the brat on the next full moon? Remus,…"

Suddenly the wounded look in his mate's eyes registered. Before Sirius had time to react, the werewolf disapparated.

"… you need to think of yourself first, once in a while." Sirius continued talking to the air. He rubbed his temples.

_ Shit, what did I say… How could I…? I'm such an idiot. And since when am I so possessive? Oh, dear… _

His wounded pride slowly subsided and left only heartache. 

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TBC?

** AN: ** _ Thanks for reading and reviewing._  
  



	6. Enmity

** Hogwarts AC 196**

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** AN: ** _ As you can see, my urge to write this is a little stronger than my will to prepare for my exams. Bad, bad, bad. I might have to put this on hold or I'll fail gloriously...  
And I have discovered that I'm more of a reader than a writer, after all. Although I can dream up complex stories, I struggle with putting more than a simple plot into writing. My appologies. And ** thanks to my reviewers ** who don't seem to mind ;-). I feel loved.  
Anyways, on with the story. _  
  
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**Chapter 6: ** Enmity

They were back. He felt their presence before they arrived. Those voices… Bizarre, unintelligible. Those faces… Fleeting, distorted. They swirled around him, closing in on him, bringing with them a burning cold. He shivered in his sleep. Sounds, colours, strange forms filled his dreams. He knew he could not escape. They had been haunting his sleep ever since…   
Strangely deformed mouths were talking, shouting, pleading - but he could not understand, unless… He felt the sudden urge to change, when out of nowhere a clear voice spoke to him. "Don't _ ever _ tell. You are bound to silence. No one must know or all hope will be lost…."

He woke up in cold sweat. Inadvertently they were driving him insane, constantly robbing him of his sleep.   
  
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Remus woke with a start. He had heard Sirius voice clearly, as if he were standing next to him. It had sounded so desperate. "What am I doing? Remus, I'm so sorry. This situation is driving me mad. I didn't mean to hurt you. I need your help. I … love you. So sorry…"

Remus felt warmth spread through his entire being. After Sirius' return, they had found out that he could contact Remus by the mere power of thought, thus the werewolf was quite sure he had not imagined his friend calling out to him.

Remus got up to answer the call. By the light of a candle he wrote a letter. _ Dear Sirius, I heard you. We need to talk… _   
  
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It was about two weeks after finding the boy that Remus decided to take him to London to provide him with clothes and other necessities as well as his school supplies.

They apparated into a dark quiet corner near the Leaky Cauldron. Well, Remus did, bringing Heero along. Remus then watched in fascination how the boy went about shopping. Heero's wounds had healed and he had put on a little weight, so that, while still extremely slender, he almost looked healthy. However, the rather small boy with the intriguing slanted blue eyes seemed to appeal to the mother-hen instincts of some of the shop assistants. Their efforts were met with a dark glare, though, that sent them away quickly. Heero seemed rather tense when he had to mix with the crowds, although he behaved inconspicuously otherwise.

Barely concealed scrutiny had led Remus to understand some of the few subtle signals his charge allowed himself to send, despite his almost impenetrable mask. Thus, he now believed to notice a certain unease in the boy as he passed through the aisles filled with mountains of clothes. _ As if he's never shopped freely for whatever he wanted before… _, he thought with a smile, not knowing how close he hit to the truth. _ But maybe it's just my presence… _

Once Heero had been up and functioning, Remus had noticed that the boy drove himself to the brink of exhaustion, every time he went out for a stroll. Curious he had followed him a few times, hidden by magical means, to find out that the boy kept a rigid training schedule resembling martial arts exercises.  
Hence, he had no reservations about leaving Heero on his own, when he suggested : "Look, Heero. I have to take care of some things. How about I give you some money and you just go and buy whatever you need by yourself? We can meet up later at the Leaky Cauldron." As Heero nodded his agreement, Remus handed over some money and turned to leave in direction of 12 Grimmauld Place.   
  
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At first, Heero was not quite sure what to think of this development. Was this some kind of test? He was certain that Remus had been spying on him before, although he never lost a word about it. But no, his senses told him that his new friend (for that was what Remus had become, though Heero wasn't quite sure about his motives yet) had indeed left him to his own devices, so he concentrated on the task at hand.

Considering Remus' own shabby clothes, he did not want to spend too much, although the professor had told him, Hogwarts would cover his expenses. Thanks to his minimalist needs and his simple taste, Heero was soon done with his regular shopping (which did not include any of those horrible spandex). There were some things left to do, however.  
He would find out what Hogwarts was all about, but that did not mean he would stay long. And anyway, he did not like the thought of being too dependant…

Heero soon found what he was looking for. About half an hour later, he left an internet café up to date with what had happened on Earth and in space during the last months, and with considerably more money at his disposal. _ Dekim Barton wouldn't mind being relieved of a few thousands, would he? _ He had thought about contacting the other pilots, but then they would probably assume he had gone mad, what with all the magic and stuff. Better wait until he knew exactly what was going on. The same went for the trial…

Now only a somewhat tricky task remained. Where to go next…   
  
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About an hour later a not very well known werewolf and an unknown former child soldier met discreetly at a pub only certain people could actually see. One took a quick glance at the other's bags, gave a few good-natured comments and seemed incredulous to be handed back a stack of money. They went off to buy things only few ordinary people would ever imagine, in a place even fewer people could reach.  
One of them was armed with a wand. He, like any possible onlooker, would never know about the small arsenal of weapons the other now carried with him, hidden on his body…   
  
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Remus led Heero, who could only just keep his astonishment hidden, into Diagon Alley. It was at this moment, when they stepped through the archway into the cobbled street, that Heero was finally sure that he was not dreaming and that this side of the world he had stumbled on was, as a matter of fact, real.

Remus had already provided the boy with the necessary books, but they still needed to buy his wizard outfit, i.e. hat and robes, as well as his wand and the rest of his equipment. They first stopped at Gringotts where Heero opened an account for himself, taking care that Remus would not notice the amount of money he, unlawfully, possessed. His pockets filled with Knuts, Sickles and Galleons and his mind put to rest by his regained independence, they set off towards Madam Malin's Robes. Luckily they were early for Hogwarts students. Therefore business was slow and fitting did not take long.

They stopped here and there to buy quills, parchment and ink, a cauldron and the rest of the equipment on the school's list. Remus noted with delight how the quiet boy's eyes darted to and fro to take everything in. After Heero had decided on a grumpy black owl (Remus had to apply every means of persuasion he could think of to convince him of the usefulness of a pet owl) only the wand was left.

They entered the small and shabby shop that was Ollivanders. Heero immediately sensed the heavy atmosphere, he felt like he just entered a grave. Judging by his shifting feet, his companion obviously did not find the shop agreeable, either.  
After a few moments Heero noticed a black shadow in the depth of the shop glide closer until he could make out an old man with strange silvery eyes. The shop owner focused his attention on Remus. "Ah, Mr Lupin. It has been a long time. Am I right to assume your wand is still functioning well? A good wand, indeed, but alas… well, in the end the wand chooses the wizard." He turned to Heero who had the distinct feeling that the wand maker had somehow slighted Remus.

"Your first wand, hm? Let's see…" Mr Ollivander pulled a tape measure out of his pocket asking "Which is your wand arm?"

After a short pause to consider the question, Heero answered "I'm ambidextrous."

"Hmmm, interesting… Hold out whichever arm you'd prefer…" Mr Ollivander took the necessary measures while explaining the uniqueness of his wands. Then he started to flit around the shelves, taking down several wands.

"Try this one. Chestnut and veela hair. Eight inches. Quite pliable…"

Heero gave a half-hearted wave with the wand, but it was snatched out of his hand immediately.

"No. Next try. Maple and unicorn hair. Swishy... No. Here…" Heero felt stupid but did as was expected of him.

"Holly and dragon heartstring. Twelve inches. Hm. …This one, ebony and unicorn tail hair. Eleven and a half inches. Nice and supple. Go on, go…"

Touching the wand Heero felt a sudden sense of connection and when he flicked it, blue sparks shot from the end.

"Very well," Mr Ollivander said. "Congratulations, this is your wand. That'll be six galleons and 15 Sickles."

Remus insisted that Hogwarts would pay for the wand and let the wand maker keep the change. He did not notice Heero's questioning eyes observe the money exchange and Mr Ollivander's sneer as he put away the two silver Sickles. As they left, genetically enhanced hearing just caught the whisper of the old man: "Interesting combination. Black and white. Rare, but interesting…"   
  
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In a semi-dark laboratory an ambitious scientist watched on as his assistant supervised the training of his newest test subject. Nothing like his masterpiece, but the guy would have to do. There was not enough time to start anew. Someone had approached him with an offer he could not resist. And his own little creation had unfortunately vanished into thin air.

No use in beating himself up about it. The human guinea pig had to be put in his proper place after rebelling against him and fighting his experiments. And what a deliciously cruel way he had thought up to achieve this. Regrettably, the executors of his punishment had lost track of his little toy. Yet, the scientist was sure that, sooner or later, his secret weapon would turn up again like the good pet he was trained to be. He chuckled softly.

If only those meddlers among Earth's administration kept out of his way. But there already was a plan forming in his devious mind how he could use this absurd trial to his own advantage…

With a bit of luck, he would not have to bring the replacement into play, after all. The guy just was no match for his creation. Although he was barely nineteen, he was too old to undergo the genetic adjustments and he lacked the years of training. Admittedly, the other pilots had done quite well without the ruthless preparation, so this test subject would be fine. But he was also deficient in other areas which had absolutely nothing to do with this mission. The scientist gave a frustrated sigh…   
  
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Life at the Burrow was fun. Harry did not need to worry about the Dursleys nor about dark wizards. He could just enjoy being with his friends, chasing gnomes, playing wizard chess or anything else. And he rarely ever had strange dreams. He never felt more normal, more like an ordinary (wizard) child than when he was here. The holidays were coming to an end, however, and so the Weasleys and their guests planned their trip to Diagon Alley. 

"We probably should go early, Molly, so it won't be too busy," Arthur Weasley said.

"And we won't get caught up in the throng of colonials when they all come at once, wonder how the shop keepers will manage that…" piped up one of the twins.

"YOU! You will not get caught up anywhere. You're staying at home, Fred and George," an angry Molly Weasley said.

She still had not managed to understand how the twins could have been so stupid to try and cheat through their NEWTs. At least Dumbledore had not just kicked them out, but allowed them to repeat their last year.

Ron suspected they just couldn't part with Hogwarts or they never would have been found out. The twins, of course, only gave joking comments and no explanations. And of course, they belonged to the party that flooed to the Leaky Cauldron the next day.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had noted with relief that they only had to buy two new textbooks for the new school year: _ The Standard Book of Spells Grade 6 _ and _ Defence Against the Dark Arts: Guide for future Aurors _.

"I wonder who'll be DADA teacher this year. I hope they haven't finally given in to Snape…" Harry murmured on their way to the counter.

"At least the book doesn't indicate another Lockhart-like show-off," Ron said with a smile as he paid for his books.

After stocking up their supplies and getting new robes fitted - they were all growing teenagers, after all - they had time for a stop at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. They had just found a table for three when a bored, drawling voice cut into their friendly talk.

"Look who's there. Potty, Weasel and the Mudblood."

"Get going, Malfoy" Harry said without turning around.

"If you can't stand us, why can't you just walk by like any other person?" Hermione asked sighing theatrically.

Draco, however, ignored them. "I bet you can't wait to meet those colonials. More admirers, more mudbloods…"

"This is getting old," Harry turned around to face the Slytherin and his bodyguards Crabbe and Goyle. "I don't need any admirers, but I sure hope there aren't many Slytherins among them…"

"Who knows, maybe they won't come at all," Draco chuckled.

"Why shouldn't they?" Hermione asked bewildered.

Draco sneered. "Don't you read the newspaper? Granger, I must say I'm disappointed in you… The Gundam trials, never heard of them? They are putting the Gundam pilots to trial. That might just provoke another war, don't you think. And who would allow the enemy into our school.." With that he went off, followed by his usual shadows.

"I don't believe it." Hermione broke the shocked silence between them. "They saved the Earth from destruction. They ended the war. I… I think I have some research to do…"

They left, each deep in thought. 

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TBC?

** AN: ** _ Thanks for reading and reviewing._  
  



	7. Hogwarts, here we come

** Hogwarts AC 196**

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** AN: ** _ I actually thought I'd get the guys together in the last chapter, too, but it got longer and longer. Then I couldn't really leave it there, so - tada - here's already the next chapter. It will be the last for quite sometime, however - you know the reason - but, since it's pretty long, I hope you'll bear with me. ** Thanks again for your encouragement, my dear readers ;-). **_  
  
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**Chapter 7: ** Hogwarts, here we come

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Quatre's face showed an unusual frown as he entered the living room where Trowa and Duo were trying to explain some basics of navigation to his youngest sister. His friends immediately sensed that there was something wrong.

"What's up, Quatre?" Duo, as always, was the first to speak.

"I just had a call from Relena…," Quatre began hesitantly, giving his sister a sign to leave them alone. "She told me she used all her influence on the commission entrusted with the trial, but there's only so much she can do. She thinks they are simply afraid of us and the possibility of having some Gundams on the loose…"

"So the verdict already stands?" Trowa asked calmly.

"Relena couldn't tell which way they will swing, but it doesn't look good. She had a suggestion, however…" Quatre paused.

"What suggestion?" Duo couldn't hide his impatience.

"She thinks we could dispel their fears if we… if we destroyed our Gundams."

The following silence was pregnant with mixed emotions… 

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In a secret laboratory a certain scientist watched the breaking news with great interest. All stations were broadcasting the same event. There on L2, some engineer called Howard what's-his-name, member of a salvaging group called the Sweepers, had been put in charge to destroy the Gundams that had miraculously appeared on his doorstep. Of course, the pilots were not present, but the media had been informed in advance. There was a major public interest, which explained the live coverage of how the four Gundams were first taken apart and then completely demolished.

The scientist was in two minds about this. It was a surprise to find that it almost pained him to see the proud mechas destroyed. Then again, it made things easier with regard to his newest project… He also found it quite interesting that a certain winged Gundam was so blatantly missing. Did that mean the other pilots had no knowledge of their comrade's whereabouts? What a pity…

This public demonstration was probably aimed at influencing the outcome of the trial. It might actually work. Which reminded him, he still had a certain report to write… 

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The breaking news did not break through to the little cottage owned by Remus Lupin. There were other things on Remus' mind, however. The next full moon was approaching fast and he somehow had to tell his guest that he was no longer welcome. Not in those words, of course. He already felt affected by his monthly bane. His head was ready to burst. But how could he get the stubborn boy to agree to spend the last days before the beginning of the term at Hogwarts without telling him too much? Well, he could not avoid the subject any longer…  
Drawing a deep breath, the tired werewolf went into his small living room, that had become Heero's room.

"Listen, Heero." Alert blue eyes were immediately fixed on his. "I have to tell you something. I… have some business to attend and I will be gone for a few days. I don't want you to stay here alone, so I have arranged with Poppy and Professor McGonagall that you can stay already at Hogwarts. Are you okay with that?"

The teen just nodded. 

_ Now, that went well, didn't it. _ "Fine, then I'll get you there the day after tomorrow."

He turned around to prepare dinner, but swayed at the sudden motion and had to steady himself against the doorframe. He felt the worried gaze that bore into his back, although Heero remained silent. As he glanced over his shoulder, he could read nothing in those impassive eyes, but still felt the need to answer the unspoken question that seemed to hang in the air.

"I'm alright, no need to worry. It's just…," he broke off.

"… the moon." Heero completed his sentence unemotionally and continued his reading.

Remus looked at him mouth agape. "How do you know…?"

As so many times before, he wasn't given a verbal answer. An almost friendly look assured him, however, that the boy didn't mind at all. 

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The flight to L1 was uneventful, but Rashid felt the depression radiating from his passengers. As much as they despised the war, it had been hard for them to let go of the Gundams. None of them had actually witnessed their destruction, instead they had occupied themselves with packing for Hogwarts. And now they were at L1 Space Port, ready to start a new life.

Rashid moved to take care of their luggage, but was stopped by Quatre. "Thank you for bringing us here, Rashid, but I think we'll be fine for the rest of the way." The Manguanac wanted to contradict him, but Duo cut in: "Man, we fought a war, don't ya think we can handle a little bit of luggage on our own."

Exchanging a resigned look with Quatre, Rashid gave in. At least he had been able to convince Quatre to let him accompany them this far.  
He watched on as the four ex-pilots entered the space port. Hopefully, they would be able to finally leave the war behind… They were only kids, after all. 

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On their way to the meeting point, Duo did his best to cheer up the mood. The loss of his Gundam had weighed him down, but now he willed himself to stop wallowing in self-pity and start looking forward to Hogwarts. The others still seemed rather down. Time to do something about it.

"Hey, Wu-man, I'm sure I'll kick your ass in Charms, whaddayasay?"

"Why, you…"

Thankfully, Wufei's rant was interrupted before he even got started. A cheerful female voice cried out loudly: "Duo!!! I don't believe it - you here."

Duo turned around. "Hilde! Don't tell me you're going to Hogwarts, too!"

The two of them hugged enthusiastically and started chattering right away. Finally, Hilde realized the presence of the other pilots.

"And your friends are all here, too. What a coincidence. To think we were all wizards and witches without knowing it."

"You're saying witches - don't tell me Relena or Dorothy are here, too…"

"Moron. You know what I meant. By the way, where's Heero? Didn't he get a letter?"

Duo's smile froze. Hilde looked unsure at the others, who had just been watching the two chatterboxes. They shuffled their feet, until Quatre broke the tension.

"Um, you know, Heero is somewhat of a taboo subject among us at the moment. We have no idea where he is…"

"Oh," Hilde looked surprised, then cleared her throat and quickly changed the subject. "Well, look over there. That's our group. A lot of the students haven't arrived yet, but you see that greasy-haired man over there? That's Professor Snape, he's teaching Potions. Seems pretty nasty. And… over there, that's Professor Sinistra. I don't know yet what she teaches. Same goes for… Ah, where is she? Oh man, I bet she changed appearance again and I don't recognize her."

"What?" The boys looked incredulous.

"That's what happens when you're enjoying yourself being a Metamorphmagus…" A cheery young voice broke into their conversation. "Your own students don't recognize you. Hi, by the way, my name is Tonks. Who are you?"

A young woman with a friendly smile stood before them. Her clothes could best be described by gothic punk and her hair was curly black with bright orange streaks in it. The boys quickly recovered from the first shock and introduced themselves.

"Well, nice to meet you all. Right now, I think I have to save that kid over there from Snape's wrath. Might as well cheer him up a little, the old grump. Talk to you later." And off she went.

Wufei stared after her. "THAT is a teacher?"

Duo looked impressed as she changed her hair to bottle green and said with a voice full of admiration: "She's COOL."

Behind them an arrogant drawl could be heard. "If Hogwarts has come to that, I sure hope that Durmstrang will soon open to colonial students, as well. I wonder what that pain on the eyes is supposed to teach."

Hilde and the boys turned around to see a strawberry-blonde boy, about their age, in posh clothes, with an equally polished platinum blonde girl clutching his arm.

"And look at all the riff-raff here. I bet they're all mudbloods. I'll be glad once we're able to mix with the other old families, Daniel."

"If I weren't so well-behaved, I'd punch them in their snobbish faces." Duo muttered under his breath.

"And what's _ mudblood _ supposed to mean?" Hilde asked softly. "I wouldn't want all the shit she's smeared in her face."

Quatre explained and the group of five decided they definitely did not like those newcomers. 

Soon the meeting point was filled with nervous future Hogwarts students and the teachers called for order to get on the shuttle to Earth. The friends learnt that Hilde's first impression of Snape was correct as he snapped at the smaller children which had difficulties parting from their parents.  
Once they were onboard, they realized that the Hogwarts group of about fifty students had a shuttle all to themselves.

"Yay," Duo exclaimed as they took their seats. "Almost as good as your private jet, Quatre." 

Snape, who had just started to explain how they would proceed from there, shot him an evil glare which unfortunately did not faze the hyper ex-pilot at all. Instead the braided teen broke out in very contagious giggles.

"You know,… if you want to… impress with that glare, … you need a little more practice," he panted.

Tonks joined with him laughing. "My dear Snape, you seem to be losing your edge…"

The Potion master's look seemed to darken even more. "We'll see who'll be laughing in the end, Mr Maxwell." Quatre gulped.

"Great, Duo," Wufei whispered. "We are not even at Hogwarts yet and you already managed to make yourself an enemy. Really smooth."

That sobered Duo up a little, but, as he noticed the admiring looks he received from some of their fellow students, he didn't really care.

"Whatever, Wu-bear."

"Oh, shut up."

Quatre and Trowa just shook their heads at their friends' antics.

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In the Leaky Cauldron, Nymphadora Tonks fell onto her bed unceremoniously. What a day: She always thought she had lots of energy, but those kids…

Anyway, after getting to know them a little during their shuttle flight the day before and on their trip to Diagon Alley today, she thought most of them were pretty nice, with the exception of two or three snobs. And she was sure the one with the braided hair was a trouble-maker, but at least a nice one. She was glad she had him and his friends in her group as they split up to shop for supplies, otherwise either that teen or Snape would not have survived the day.

She grinned as she remembered how completely unimpressed he and his friends had been by Snape's attitude. They were fun to be with and she wondered what kind of bond the four boys and the girl shared. They obviously had known each other before they had ever heard of Hogwarts…

She yawned. Who would have thought that keeping a group of kids together could be so exhausting. But it had been difficult to drag Duo and Hilde along who always found something interesting to look at (especially at the joke shop), and tear the otherwise uncomplicated Trowa away from the animals at the Magical Menagerie or the Owl Emporium, and keep the younger kids in a good mood during the tedious process of buying a wand.

But it had been fun, she thought sleepily. And tomorrow she would start her new career as a Hogwarts teacher… Her parents would have been proud… 

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It was a loud and cheerful group of new Hogwarts students that entered King's Cross the next morning. They were all a little suspicious when they were told how to get to platform nine and three-quarters, but they all managed to get through the barrier without accidents. As if the method of arrival had not been astonishing enough, many students stood open-mouthed in front of the antique scarlet steam engine.

The usual group of five didn't waste much time and clambered, packed as they were, into the train. When Trowa took a last glance at the teachers that had delivered them here, he was certain he could make out relief on Snape's face, relief to be rid of the pest that Duo had become in his eyes.

The five occupied a compartment towards the end of the train and tried to stow away their luggage and the three owls and two cats they had acquired. Obviously they would have to wait a little longer for the rest of the students to arrive, as it was still quite early. Settling down, they wondered what the other students would be like… 

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When the Weasleys plus two arrived at the platform, it was already packed with witches and wizards seeing their children onto the train and many unfamiliar faces looked out of the windows.

"They are already here, do you see them, they are already here," Ginny bubbled excitedly.

"Well, off you go then." Mrs Weasley kissed her kids and their friends goodbye. "And Fred, George, behave for once, will you."

"As always, Mum." They grinned.

And they all boarded the train, giving a last wave to the Weasley parents. They split up, the twins and Ginny went towards the front of the train looking for their respective friends, Harry, Ron and Hermione towards the back where their usual compartment was.

When they arrived, they noticed that there were already other people sitting in there. Seeing as the train was more packed than usual, Harry asked "Uhm, the train is quite full. Do you still have room for three more people?" "Or four," Neville's voice piped up timidly from behind Hermione.

The foreigners looked at them with friendly curiosity and answered as one "Sure."

"Great. I'm Harry. That's Ron, Hermione and Neville." Harry introduced them looking somewhat challenging into the others' faces. Only a blonde boy showed signs of recognition, but made no move to fawn over him, the others thankfully seemed clueless. Harry relaxed and sat down while the colonial students introduced themselves.

"So, where exactly are you from? Did you know you were wizards before? Did you know each other before? Are you looking forward to learning magic?…"

"Hermione, breathe and they might actually be able to answer you." Ron interrupted her.

They all laughed good-naturedly. Duo and Hilde looked at one another and at Hermione and Quatre, then the chit-chat began. Two pairs of green eyes locked and the owners shook their heads in silent agreement. Interestingly, the subject of the war was carefully avoided by all sides.

Around half past twelve, the plump witch with the food trolley arrived in their compartment. The teens bought a little bit, or a little bit more, of everything and put it into one large pile which they shared. The experienced Hogwarts students watched in delight as their new friends discovered Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans, moving pictures and so on. That way the hours flew by.

"Do you already know which house you want to be in?" Neville finally dared to get into the conversation.

"Anything but Slytherin," Quatre answered without hesitation, while the others looked at him questioningly.

Hermione explained to them what the different houses stood for, as well as the animosity between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Unfortunately for Harry, she could not avoid mentioning Voldemort which led to further explanations including his involvement and the impending new war. The others noticed how uncomfortable Harry looked and refrained from making comments. After all, they knew a lot about unwanted fame.

"Man, I had no idea what we were getting into." Duo exclaimed.

"Great, another war, when we just thought we were finished with it all…" was Wufei's comment, muttered under his breath. Hermione caught it, though. Knowing how most colonist families had been affected by the war and having read about child soldiers, she asked tentatively: "Have you, I mean, … have you somehow been involved in the war?"

"Yeah,…" Quatre trailed off.

Luckily, at this moment the train seemed to be slowing down and they quickly put on their robes. Once the train had stopped, people pushed their way towards the doors and onto the platform.  
In the cool night air Hagrid's booming voice could be heard over the student's heads: "Firs' years an' colonials over here! Firs' years an' colonials! C'mon, follow me!"  
The experienced Hogwarts students watched as their new friends followed the gamekeeper. "See you later!" Quatre, Duo and Hilde waved.

The five were duly impressed by their first sight of Hogwarts, as they climbed into the boats. They arrived at the underground harbour safely and walked up the flight of stone steps that led to the huge, oak front door. After Hagrid knocked three times, the door swung open to reveal a tall, black-haired witch in emerald green robes.

"The new students, Professor McGonagall."

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." the Deputy Headmistress answered.

They were led into an empty chamber off the Entrance Hall where Professor McGonagall gave them her welcome speech.

"… The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. All first-years first, then the rest of the colonial students. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts." She went on to explain the meaning of the houses, including the points system. 

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A sick-looking Remus Lupin was just in time to go and get Heero from the hospital wing where he had spent the last two nights. Professor McGonagall had just started her welcome speech. He returned with the boy, telling him to mix with the crowd. Remaining in the shadows, he followed him with his gaze, hoping he would be alright. McGonagall just got to the part where she told the students to smarten themselves up while they were waiting. "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." She left the chamber.

Suddenly a movement among the students caught Remus' attention. A tall boy, about the same age as Heero, approached the teen. He couldn't see the other's face (instead he could see an unusual, long braid quite clearly), but judging by the determined way he walked, he seemed to know Heero. Remus saw his charge turn his head. Heero's eyes seemed to light up and it looked as if a smile wanted to break through the ever void façade. Yet, all of a sudden, his face went blank, the other left again. Empty blue eyes looked on the ground… 

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Professor McGonagall was just about to leave the chamber, when Duo, out of the corner of his eyes, saw a movement at the back of the group. But that couldn't be… He was sure he had seen a familiar mop of chocolate coloured hair. He felt how a huge grin painted itself across his face. Heero. Then he remembered the pain of rejection and his smile fell. Burning anger rose. No, this time he wouldn't just get over it. He wouldn't pretend he wasn't hurt. But first he had to be sure. He gave Trowa a sign that he would be back soon and turned to look for his fri… his former friend.

"Hey there. What a surprise to see you here." It was indeed Heero's dark blue eyes that looked up into his now, but it was too dark for Duo to really read his expression. He took on a sarcastic tone.

"You should have told us you were coming here. Oh, I remember now, we haven't spoken since… wait a minute… yeah, since the end of the war. But then again, that's what _ friends _ do, and all we've ever been to you is comrades at the most, right? You know, I would have had so much to tell you, but since you so obviously don't want any friendship, I'll spare you and go back to those people who appreciate it. See ya around."

Duo turned on his heel. Heero hadn't uttered a word, but then he never was much of a talker. Maybe he had overdone it a little? Nah, Heero should know how much it had hurt. And he probably didn't care anyway, did he?

It had felt good to look down on the other. Strange. Trowa had always been the tallest of the five. Wufei and Heero had been head to head for second place with Duo in hot pursuit and Quatre the smallest. Now that the pressure and the rationing of the war was gone, they had all grown and filled out a bit. Wufei and Duo had almost caught up with Trowa and Quatre wasn't far behind. Duo would bet that Heero was now the smallest. Strange. Probably his Japanese heritage…

Feeling a lot better, he returned to his true friends and related in brief what had transpired. At the same moment as he finished Professor McGonagall returned.

The new students formed a line, as requested, and walked out of the chamber, across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. They were amazed at the sight of the hall lit by thousands of candles underneath a sky-like black ceiling dotted with stars. 

On a stool sat a shabby-looking hat. Curious they stared at it and were taken by surprise as it started to sing about the houses and the sorting procedure. Once the hat finished, the Hall burst into applause. Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding two long rolls of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she explained.

It took quite a while until all the first years were sorted, then it was soon time for Trowa to sit on the stool.

"Barton, Trowa"

He put the hat on and waited. Suddenly he heard a small voice in his ear.  
"Hmm, you have courage, no doubt about it. GRYFFINDOR!"  
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville gave the loudest cheers at the Gryffindor table.

Soon it was Wufei's turn. "Chang, Wufei"  
"Ah, a real scholar. You should do well in - RAVENCLAW!"  
This time the Ravenclaw table clapped.

A few people later, the platinum blonde girl they had come to dislike at the space port was called forward. "Falger, Noemi" was put in Slytherin without hesitation. Immediately after her it was her boyfriend's turn. "Fys, Daniel". And he, too, was put in Slytherin without much ado.

Several minutes later "Maxwell, Duo" was called.  
"Hmm, you have a good mind. But sometimes also a cruel streak." _ Oh please, not Slytherin… _ "You sure? Oh well, your place is in - GRYFFINDOR!"  
The whole table clapped enthusiastically for him.

It felt like hours for Hilde until she could step forward. "Schbeiker, Hilde". She barely felt the hat on her head when it already called out "GRYFFINDOR!". Hermione gave the most enthusiastic cheers.

There were only few people left, when it was the turn for "Winner, Quatre".  
_Put me with Trowa, please put me with Tro… _ "Fine, if you insist." The hat chuckled. "GRYFFINDOR!"  
He received a huge applause.

The very last to be called forward was a certain "Yuy, Heero". At the Gryffindor table the Weasley twins whispered: "Poor guy, his parents must have been ardent supporters of that politician…" Other voices in the hall echoed this thought.

"Hmm, where to put you… You're bright and have lots and lots of too much courage. But you're also ruthless in achieving your goals… You could do well in Slytherin." _ Anything but Slytherin, anything but Slytherin._ "Then again your goals aren't Slytherin-esque. And you're also kind beneath that gruff exterior." _ Just put me in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff… _ The hat chuckled. "Hufflepuff? I don't think so. You are better off in - GRYFFINDOR!" 

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TBC?

** AN: ** _ Hope you like it. Although it was a little rushed. By the way, you may have noticed that English isn't my mother tongue, so feel free to point out my mistakes. Thanks._

And as always, thanks for reading and reviewing.  
  



	8. Banquet Night

** Hogwarts AC 196**

** AN: **  
_ Okay, I'll stop telling you I won't update soon. You'll see when the next chapter is out and obviously I can't stop myself, anyway. But please don't be disappointed if it really takes a little longer.  
Thanks so much for your positive response to the last chapter. Makes me feel all warm inside. And no worries, our friends will be exactly that again - at some point of the story... I think ;-). Just tell me if you think I'm overdoing the drama part.  
Here comes chapter 8. _ .

**Chapter 8: ** Banquet Night

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The Great Hall quieted down as all students had found a place at their respective tables and Professor Dumbledore stood up to speak. He smiled benignly and opened his arms wide.  
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Before we begin our feast, I would like to get a few things out of the way."

"With the end of the Muggle war, I am very pleased we could finally welcome colonial students in our midst. A warm welcome to you all. To make sure you can catch up, we have decided to change start of term procedures. First-years' classes will start as of tomorrow. All other colonial students will be divided into two groups according to age and take part in introductory courses which will be shared, at least in part, by your peers, who can regard this as a chance to review."

"After three weeks we will assess your progress and you will be placed into the appropriate years. Then the regular classes will start, but you will still have the opportunity of extra tutoring by our assistant teachers."  
"Given the repercussions of the Muggle war on the wizarding world, we have also decided that from now on Muggle Studies will be compulsory for all years. Your timetables will be handed out tomorrow at breakfast."

"At this point, I would also like to welcome our new teachers and those who have agreed to work as assistant teachers this year…" Harry and his friends were glad to see Remus Lupin and… Nymphadora Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody - _ what were they doing here?_ - among them, although there were a few whistles and boos audible in the welcoming applause the teachers received.

"New students should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils..." There was a notable glance towards the Gryffindor table, particularly the Weasley twins who suddenly found the ceiling incredibly fascinating.  
"Quidditch trials will be held in the fourth week. That's all for now and I won't delay any longer. Let the feast begin!"

To the new students' surprise the dishes before them filled with an abundance of the most delicious food. The other students smiled knowingly at the newcomers who had difficulties picking up their jaws. Soon the hall was echoing with the clinking and clattering of cutlery and the chatter of hundreds of voices. The Weasley twins were entertaining the Gryffindor table with tales of their best pranks. Duo and Hilde were listening to them with great interest.

Remus Lupin observed several members of the Gryffindor table while talking to Tonks and feeding Snuffles underneath the table. The black dog nudged him with his snout and he could hear Sirius' voice in his head. "I'll have a look at the new Gryffindors." For some reason that did not sound good at all, but he probably just wanted to see Harry, right?

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Once Hermione had eaten more than enough, she realized she had not yet introduced herself to the boy who had sat down next to her.

"Um, I guess you don't know us yet. My name's Hermione and," she motioned to the boys sitting opposite to them, "that's Ron, Harry, Quatre…" When she finished the boy just nodded.

"Heero."

Hermione tried to start a conversation but gave up when she felt her efforts being ignored. _ Pity, he's acting like a jerk. Maybe he's shy, hm, but he sure looks cute. Uh, where did that thought come from? _ Fortunately, Hilde and the boys were soon done wolfing down their meal as well.

"Oh, I don't know how they managed this, but I'm so full I could burst." Duo groaned.

"One could think you haven't eaten in days," Ron laughed. Duo grinned.

"Whoa, Snuffles!" Harry suddenly exclaimed as he felt a cold nose touch his shin. He patted the animagus. "Good to see you again."

"It looks like he's grinning." Trowa said.

"Yeah, he probably is." Hermione shook her head.

"Is he yours?" Hilde asked. "He's huge."

"No, he belongs to Professor Lupin." Harry said with an amused smirk.

Hermione noticed that Heero looked up quizzically at that. Thinking he might want to know who they were talking about, she explained. "Professor Lupin is the one sitting next to the witch with the long purple hair over there, Heero."

All of a sudden, Snuffles' head appeared on their side of the table, growling and baring his teeth at the silent boy. Hermione put an arm around his neck and pulled him back. "What's wrong with you?"

Crookshanks, who had somehow found his way on her lap, smacked the black dog over his head with his paw, whereupon the animagus showed as much a miffed expression as a dog could. With a huff he returned to Harry's side from where he kept a watchful eye on the other boy while the ginger cat jumped on an unsuspecting Heero's lap.

Harry was puzzled. What could have prompted his godfather to such a reaction? He had noticed the strange looks Duo, Quatre and Trowa had been giving the other boy before. They definitely seemed to know him and they did not seem to like him very much, either. But then Crookshanks usually was a good judge of character. As their talk returned to other subjects like lessons, wizard heritage and Quidditch, he exchanged a look with Ron. They would keep an eye on that guy…

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Finally, it was time for Dumbledore to ask for the school song to be intoned. The new students looked rather bewildered at the cacophony that ensued, which of course motivated some, first and foremost a certain pair of twins, to break out into the shrillest tunes they could make up. Fortunately this torment was soon over and they were told it was bed time.

The chattering crowds started to stream out of the hall and in direction of their houses. Harry and Heero both were hanging back a little when they heard Remus' voice calling "Wait!". As they turned Remus came up to them.  
"Hello Harry. Good to see you again." Then, to Harry's surprise, he turned to the other boy, handing him a bag of chocolate frogs and other sweets.

"Here, I got you some wizard sweets, Heero, seeing that you couldn't get yourself a supply at the train." The werewolf smiled somewhat embarrassed while the taciturn teen stared at the bag without moving a muscle. Then the young Gryffindor nodded to the teacher and turned to follow the rest of his house. Harry slowly tagged along, but he caught the sad look that came into the eyes of the Marauder. What was that all about?

He felt a strange mix of emotions well up inside him. Anger that Professor Lupin had been treated with so much disregard. Concern for the werewolf who had already looked awfully tired before this incidence. Distrust of the other boy. If he had inquired further he might have been astonished to realize that part of it was plain and simple jealousy…

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Wufei was swept along with the Ravenclaw crowd. Not that it bothered him to be apart from the others. He always preferred to go his own way and as it was he wouldn't have to deal with a hyper Duo in his dorm. He grinned inwardly, Gryffindor had no idea what was coming at them… As far as he could see, the Ravenclaws were a decent crowd and he would fit in there quite easily. Interestingly, there was even an onna by the name of Chang…

He actually found it had its advantages to sit far off the Gryffindor table. He got an outsider's view on the group of his friends. The bigger picture, so to say. But what he had seen was nagging him. Something was off. At first he wasn't quite sure what it was, but he had it pinned down to one person. Heero.  
Of course Duo had told them what had happened in the ante-chamber and, for once, they agreed with his rash actions, but as usual Heero did not seem fazed at all. But still… He let the scenes replay in his mind. No, it was nothing that had actually happened, it was rather… Heero had looked so… fragile? What?! Heero Yuy never looked fragile! He might manage to not look dangerous, but… He must be imagining things! Ridiculous…

They reached a passageway guarded by some kind of live portrait. "Sapere aude."

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Hermione and Ron, being Gryffindor prefects, led the new and old Gryffindors out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase, explaining that their luggage had already been taken to the dorms assigned to them. They also warned them about the pitfalls of moving staircases and the like.

The new Gryffindors felt like the walk to their house would never end. The moving pictures were fascinating, but they did not really help when you tried to memorize the way.

"How will I ever manage to not get lost here?" Hilde wondered aloud, when they finally seemed to have reached their destination.

"Oh, you'll manage alright after a few days," Ron answered with a grin.

"So, this is the entrance to our house," Hermione pointed to the portrait of the Fat Lady. "It is important that you don't forget the password, if you don't want to spend the night outside. Oh, and don't write it down somewhere and leave it lying around." After warning glance to Neville, she turned to the Fat Lady. "Wiggle-dee-doo."

Several snickers could be heard, as the portrait swung forward to reveal the entrance.

"Hey, that wasn't our choice." Ron said defensively.

"A portrait as watchdog. Interesting security device…" Trowa remarked quietly.

"Wonder how you can get around that…" Duo mumbled while devious plans were already forming in his mind.

The cosy Gryffindor common room was only shortly appreciated before the prefects directed the girls and boys to their respective dormitories. The rooms had been reorganized so that there was a mix of colonials and more experienced Gryffindors in every dorm, at least until it was clear which year the colonials belonged in.

Trowa and Quatre were to room with Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas and another new kid about their age. Hilde and Hermione were glad to see that they were in the same dorm.

"Great." said a displeased Duo, in a tone that belied the wording, when he realized that he would share with Harry, Ron, Neville and, yes, Heero. "Why do I always have to room with you?" He asked the boy who had been given the bed next to his own.

"Hn."

Heero just ignored the cutting remark and got ready for bed. The exchange did not go unnoticed by the other occupants of their room, although they did not investigate any further. They were all too tired to hold up a longer conversation and went to bed quickly.

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Two boys were lying awake long after the lights went out in Gryffindor tower. One was tossing and turning in his bed. He was tired, but sleep eluded him. So much had happened today. He pondered on what the new school year would bring. He briefly mused about his nightmares, but pushed those memories away quickly. He thought about the newcomers. He really liked those colonials he got to know a little better. That Heero guy was a different matter, but he didn't understand what was going on there. Somehow the others knew him and disliked him, yet Professor Lupin seemed to know him, too, and was… concerned for him? Maybe time would tell. And he really, really should sleep now. Yawning he thought that, once again, he was looking forward to a first school day at Hogwarts… Tomorrow…

The other boy was lying completely still, yet wide awake. This was probably the most comfortable bed he had ever slept in. He was free and he was safe here. Still, he just couldn't sleep. One question kept racing through his head, again and again. _ Why…? _  
He tried to will himself to sleep, but it was useless. He did not need much sleep anyway. Why were they so angry with him? What had he done wrong? A strange cold feeling not unlike physical pain was eating him up. His eyes were burning, but tears would not come. _ Why…? _

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TBC?

** AN: ** _ Thanks again for reading and reviewing._


	9. A New Dawn

** Hogwarts AC 196**

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** AN: ** _ Helloooo... Are you still with me? Sorry for taking so long. The reasons could fill a whole page, but I don't want to bore you. It all resulted in me losing the thread of this story and then I had too many ideas to fit them into my original plot (as far as there was one ;-)), but now I hope I'm back on track. Whispers I don't know when I'll be able to update again, though...But rest assured, I don't intend to give up on this fic._

Some responses to reviews:

To ** internet weaver **: Thank you for keeping an interest in this story and thanks for your suggestions, in particular your latest review (as it's always better to specify than just say something's horrible). I don't totally agree with your version of the meeting, but I can see where you're coming from. I might rewrite that and other scenes at some point, but for now I'll leave things as they stand.

To ** Lost-Remembrance **: You really made my day there... I couldn't believe it when I checked out my e-mail account. 8 reviews in one day. You seem really, really fond of this story ;-). I'm flattered. But also a little scared that I'm bound to disappoint, given your enthusiasm. Anyway, this one's for you. 

**And thanks to all my lovely reviewers out there! **

On with the story...

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**Chapter 9: ** A New Dawn...

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Duo woke up to the sound of squeaking beds. A look to his right told him his roommates were slowly getting up. "Time to get out?" he asked sleepily. Lately he really had gotten somewhat too used to sleeping in… "Unless you want to miss breakfast, yes." Harry smiled at Duo's dishevelled appearance. "Fine." Grumbling Duo sat up and discovered that the bed to his other side had already been made meticulously, military style.  
Typical, Heero probably had been up at dawn. Phh… Couldn't he just get over it? War was over. The wartime habits created by the need to be on constant alert had gradually subsided in him during the past eight months, why not Heero? Hm, moot point, yeah, he knew Heero's upbringing had been different, and admittedly even now his own reflexes kicked in from time to time, but still… He stretched lazily.

"Hurry up. We'll wait for you in the Common Room."

When Duo finally showed up in the Common Room, he realised that he wasn't by far the last to appear. Most of the colonial students seemed to suffer from a major jet lag and arrived sluggishly.

"All newbies here?" Hermione asked finally. "Alright then, follow me and try to memorise the way, as of tomorrow you'll be on your own."  
"Uhm, Heero is missing." Hilde noticed.  
"He was already gone when we got up," Ron said. "So I guess he went on his own."  
"Oh, he'll manage…, he'll manage…" Duo voiced his opinion glumly. 

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And he was right, of course. Having the advantage of a longer stay, Heero had no difficulties at all in locating the Great Hall. After only a few hours sleep, he had set out to explore more of this peculiar building while everything was still quiet.  
He needed a distraction from his own thoughts. And of course the habit to familiarise himself with his surroundings, getting to know them inside out, exploring possible hiding places and escape routes, was deeply ingrained in him.  
Heero would never admit that, despite his excellent sense of direction, he got lost a few times while ghosting through the halls, confused by the magically changing stairs and pictures. In the end, he decided to pass the time in the library he had discovered. When he heard the sounds of the waking castle, he closed the book on Animagi he had been immersed in and went to get some breakfast. 

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Breakfast at Hogwarts was always a rather loud affair. The Great Hall bustled with students and staff. However, the excitement of the new, or in the older students' case the first day, had still to wear off, so everything was even more lively than usual.

It was quite a large group that had formed around Harry, Ron and Hermione. Next to the "usual suspects", Neville, Seamus, Dean and the other Weasleys, sat Hilde, Duo, Trowa and Quatre. They were framed by further new students. The twins were taking the opportunity to skilfully scare them by telling them imaginative stories of their allegedly horrible first day. 

Upon entering the three ex-pilots had noticed Wufei, who seemed more than fine at the Ravenclaw table, and nodded a greeting. Although the Chinese pilot liked to go against the tide from time to time, he would always remain part of their circle of friends and he knew that. Breaking eye contact, he resumed his conversation with a fellow Ravenclaw, who was, surprisingly for those who knew him, a girl. Shortly afterwards they spotted Heero taking a seat at the far end of the Gryffindor table.

Even though it was only the first day of the school year, already the first owls were arriving, carrying letters and small packages under the interested eyes of the Muggle-raised students.  
Neville received a rather large package from his grandmother that, to his endless embarrassment, turned out to hold a stack of underwear. The boy blushed a deep red when he tried to repack the contents of his parcel as discreetly as possible. _Why did he have to be so forgetful? _ Unfortunately, some Slytherins had spotted his dilemma and already started teasing him. He wouldn't live that down for the rest of the school year, he was sure.

Another owl, which obviously belonged to the school, dropped a letter into Harry's lap. His surprised look soon vanished as he recognised Sirius' handwriting. _To my knowledge you have first period free. Come and meet me at Moony's room with Ron and Hermione. Snuffles._   
"Si…" He corrected himself. "Snuffles would like to see us" he mouthed in answer to the curious stares given by his two closest friends, once he was sure nobody was watching.  
However, from a distance, a colonial student was following their exchange. He was slightly puzzled by the information his sharp blue eyes, well-versed in the art of lip-reading, provided. Snuffles?? And hadn't there been some slip of the tongue?…

As their breakfast drew to an end, Quatre noticed with an inward smile that Duo seemed very fidgety. He was not affected by the Weasleys' tales, but now that he had successfully come out of bed, he obviously couldn't wait to get going.

Professor McGonagall had the prefects hand out provisional timetables and announced that a list of which "veteran" student was to tutor which new student would be put up by lunch break. Indeed, only the first-years and the newcomers from the colonies had to attend the first periods as the others were not considered in need of another introduction course to the basics of magic. The more experienced Hogwarts students would join in later. Thus, the three friends made their way to Professor Lupin's room, while the older newbies assembled in Professor Binns' classroom. 

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They were surprised when they realised that their teacher actually was a ghost. If they thought that would make lessons more interesting as he might relate first-hand experiences, they soon found themselves disappointed. The former Gundam pilots had never in their rather patchy school career gone through a more boring class than History of Magic.  
After about twenty minutes Duo noticed that absolutely all students but a visibly struggling Wufei and possibly Heero had lost the fight against boredom, though he wasn't quite sure about the latter - he had that strange expression on his face (only recognisable to those who knew him, anyone else wouldn't note a difference) that seemed to suggest that he was far away with his thoughts, but Duo had been deceived by this distant look often enough to know that he might still be paying attention. How he did that, was a mystery…  
For lack of something more interesting to do (and not wanting to leave a bad impression on the very first day), Duo soon began doodling on his parchment, trying to find the right way to handle the unfamiliar quill without getting everything blotchy. As time drew on, he was asking himself if it had been the right decision to come to Hogwarts, after all. He had imagined it to be a lot more fun…

Duo might have been pleased, had he known that he hadn't misread the former Wing pilot's expression. Indeed, Heero's thoughts followed the same paths as his. Somehow all these historical events had seemed a lot more interesting when he read about them…

Heero couldn't keep his mind from wandering. Unfortunately, it went where he really didn't want it to go. Back to the question that had deprived him of a good night's rest. Why were the others ignoring him? Duo had hinted to his unexplained absence, but that couldn't be all there was to it, could it? He must have done something severely wrong to deserve such a cold shoulder. That much he knew for sure, even though he was so insecure about the concept of friendship. They had always insisted on including him into their circle, no matter how hard he had pushed them away… 

Now he felt lost. There had to be a good reason, he just couldn't think of one. But they were aware that he had learned all he knew about friendship from them, so it had to be pretty obvious… Probably he had broken one of those unwritten rules of friendship everyone was supposed to know and he was just too… stupid. There was no other explanation. _ Why was he so incompetent when it came to everyday human interaction? _ He sighed inaudibly. Once again it was all his fault they had gotten hurt, and he hadn't even realised it. How could he repair the damage he had done? Maybe he just had to wait out their punishment. That's what it was, wasn't it?  
He had no right to push them, should they decide he was no longer worthy of their friendship. A cold feeling invaded him. That couldn't be…? They couldn't know…? And if they did, would they really…? With dread he felt a flashback arriving and it took all his self-control to keep from physically trying to shake the thoughts away. A memory from long ago, the memory of a husky, smug voice whispering in his younger self's ear, penetrated his mind…

_ "You don't think anyone could really _ like _ you, do you, little one? A tool for warfare? A killer?" An almost manic laughter… Eyes… Hands… A body getting too close… "Even if they could turn a blind eye to that fact…" The owner of the voice was clearly enjoying himself… "Nobody would want a _ used _ toy… mmh… Dirty… mmh… Tainted…" _

Nooo!!! That. Was. Wrong. Wasn't it? Maybe he didn't deserve their friendship… Maybe he was just too… fucked up… He cringed inwardly.  
But… but he would have to prove his worth. There was little else he could do. He'd show them that he was not dangerous. That he could uphold human relations. That he could _learn _ to be normal… Or at least act it… And then he would just have to wait… and hope…

Fortunately, the end of Professor Binns' lesson saved him from delving deeper into the corners of his mind he preferred to keep hidden, even from himself. Slowly he followed the others out of the classroom and to Transfiguration. Hopefully that lesson would keep his mind occupied… 

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A 16-year old boy was pacing through an empty corridor of the Slytherin house. His fellow Slytherins knew him well enough to keep out of his way. To say he was angry would have been an exaggeration. He was, well,… annoyed. Yes, that was the most fitting word. A Malfoy was too cool and composed to be angered by this, this… Dammit, this wasn't supposed to happen. Damn those newcomers…

Actually, no, it was a surprise, but he had come to terms with having those colonials at school. They were overall no better or worse than the other people at Hogwarts. And he had learned to accept the Potter phenomenon long ago. There was only so much to fame… He would exchange fame for power any day. Besides, most of them had yet to succumb to the hype that surrounded his favourite enemy.

Draco would rather die than admit to anyone but himself that the quarrels with Potter and his friends were a mere game in which the roles were defined clearly. He had a reputation to uphold after all. And to do so he needed a worthy opponent (or victim) which he found in Potter and company. And Mudbloods were so easy to pick on, he grinned inwardly as he pictured an irritated Granger.

People often thought he was envious of the Gryffindor's skills, but that was not the case. Draco was actually quite sure that Potter more often than not relied on sheer luck, although he didn't lack the talent, admittedly. However, the Slytherin knew that he himself was actually quite brilliant in his own right, the more analytical kind. And he didn't go for fame, his interests lay in power alone. He was a Malfoy, that said it all.   
What he did envy, was the warmth and friendship Potter received, and the respect. A Malfoy was feared, there was respect for the mere name, but, as long as he kept in line and met the expectations, nobody held an interest in the boy behind it. His father had made that very clear once again, when he was at home during the summer holidays. He was used to that, but he had begun to suspect that even the little pride Lucius Malfoy had in his son was waning. He was too preoccupied with Death Eater business to even acknowledge his son's existence, or so it seemed. Not that Draco cared much for his father, but still…

Oh, what was he thinking? Love? He was probably suffering from temporary mental derangement. Growing up in the Malfoy household he had learned that there were only two kinds of fish in the sea of life and they were sharks and, well, shark food. A Malfoy was clearly a shark, ruthless and feared, or he was no longer considered worthy of the name. All the closeness and mushiness of, for example, the Weasleys' was a hindrance on the road to more power. They were just little fish. He was a shark, nothing like a Weasley, not at all. A smirk flickered across Draco's features. A shark relied only on himself and to a certain extent to others of his kind.

Unfortunately, Draco had come to realise that his father had overlooked some important facts in his alliance with the Dark Lord (for a Malfoy this could only be an alliance, nothing less). The young Slytherin would be the first to admit that he was power-hungry. But unlike Lucius Malfoy he was well aware that working with (or rather, as Draco did realise, _ for _) Lord Voldemort did not really serve their purpose. Even if the Dark Lord could assume absolute power (which Draco secretly doubted), the Malfoys could only ever be second in command - at the most, and it was even more probable that Voldemort would finally turn against them, either regarding them as a threat or simply because they might not be needed anymore.

Oh, well… Despite these prospects there was only one side for him to take. Maybe they would find an opening at some point. In the end Malfoys always survived. And maybe he could make his father proud. Now to the problem at hand, the reason for his irritation.

Draco stopped his pacing to stare out of the window. At first he had been quite content with the sorting of new Slytherins. But that Fys guy and his girl-friend were getting on his nerves. Their holier-than-thou attitude was only rivalled by his own. They obviously were up to something. Oh, they were subtle about it, but Draco knew exactly what they were trying to do. They would fail. Nobody challenged his authority among the Slytherins. And nobody entered _ his game _… 

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TBC?

** AN: ** _ Well, it didn't exactly turn out as I wanted and I didn't spend as much time on writing it (I'm referring to the actual writing here) as you readers deserve, but I felt that NOW it was really time to get it out. I hope it wasn't too bad. It's 2:30 now over here, so good night..._

Thanks again for reading and reviewing.


	10. A New Day

** Hogwarts AC 196**

** AN: ** _ Happy new year, everybody. So, here it is, the next installment. No more boring blabla from me today. Just thanks to all those who reviewed. I find your response very encouraging._

_Apparently there was some confusion about the "Fys guy" last chapter. The following quote from chapter 7 should clear that up: _

A few people later, the platinum blonde girl they had come to dislike at the space port was called forward. "Falger, Noemi" was put in Slytherin without hesitation. Immediately after her, it was her boyfriend's turn. "Fys, Daniel". And he, too, was put in Slytherin without much ado.__

___And now on with the story... _

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**Chapter 10: ... A New Day**

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Draco Malfoy wasn't the only one to pace a hole into Hogwarts floors. Sirius was looking forward to seeing his godson and his friends again, yet , he was also preoccupied. This would be the first time he (being himself) saw his godson again, after that incident in the Department of Mysteries. Harry and his friends were bound to ask about his ordeal. How was he to answer? How was he to keep what he had learnt a secret, when it could mean so much to Harry? But then, how could he not, if his revelation had such dire consequences?

He was so tired of all this. And it didn't really help that his mate was angry with him for attacking that brat… Yeah, he might have gone a little too far, but still…Remus had given him the cold shoulder, after he had been unable to really explain his behaviour. And he himself had been too miffed to apologise. Therefore they had slept at the far ends of the bed, with their backs to one another, when all Sirius wanted was for his lover to hold him. His love's arms around him were the only thing that kept his nightmares away, gave him shelter from the shadows from behind the veil… Remus was always patient with him, but he was no mind-reader. So how was the werewolf to know just how much he needed him, when he simply couldn't - mustn't - talk about it…

And then there were his worries for Harry. He wasn't inclined to dismiss the boy's nightmares. The past had proven often enough that things like that should not be taken lightly.

Energetic knocks on the door tore him out of his musings and he couldn't help the smile appearing on his face as he heard the cheerful voices of the young Gryffindors. He opened the door carefully so that no random passer-by would accidentally see him and embraced the three friends in a bear hug.

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Transfiguration was a whole different story from History of Magic. Professor McGonagall immediately established her authority and not even Duo dared to challenge it. She gave them an overview of the nature of magic and Transfiguration in particular, impressing them with a short demonstration as she changed her desk into a zebra and back. Now that was more like what they expected from a school of witchcraft and wizardry. The new Hogwarts students had to hurry to keep up with their notes, until, finally, they were allowed to try their own skills at McGonagall's usual beginners' task. They were given matches and had to try and change them into needles. The task wasn't quite as easy as they had imagined and even the students who had more experience with magic were struggling.

Toward the end of the lesson, Duo suddenly felt a strange sensation coming from his wand and thought he got the hang of it. Indeed, with his next try his match turned all silver and definitely pointy - the fact that it lacked the eye of the needle could be neglected - and he let out a whoop of joy, jumping from his chair at the same time.

"Yay, I did it! Who's the man? I'm the man!" he rejoiced doing a little victory dance.

"Well done, Mr Maxwell." Professor McGonagall for once seemed surprisingly lenient. "But now you've informed us all of your success, you might want to sit down and practice some more."

"Aw, come on. Isn't there a prize for the first to make it?" Duo switched on his most charming smile.

"I am sorry to disappoint you. There is not. And anyway, you were not the first."

The students looked around surprised. No, there were nothing but matches on the various desks.

"Mr Yuy, would you please…" the Transfiguration teacher prompted.

All eyes turned to Heero who bestowed one of his friendlier glares on the head of Gryffindor house. Duo couldn't help smiling at the former Wing pilot's reluctance to draw all the attention to himself.

"Yuy, we are waiting." McGonagall repeated in a slightly impatient tone.

Wiping his expression blank, Heero grabbed his wand and gave a lazy flick of the wrist. The majority of the students gaped. There on the table lay a shiny, flawlessly shaped needle. Another tap of the wand changing it back into a match and Heero laid his wand down again, under the admiring looks of his fellow students, some girls in particular.

At first, Duo wanted to jump up and congratulate his friend, but at the last second he kept himself in check and mumbled tetchily: "Figures…" ___The Perfect Soldier just had to create the perfect needle, and on top of it, he had to do it before anybody else. _

For the remaining ten minutes of the lesson, every student gave their best to at least achieve the same level as Duo, but in the end only about half of them actually managed to turn the match into something that looked remotely like a needle. Among them were Hilde and the former Gundam pilots, which made their doubts concerning their magical talent dissipate somewhat. If the other classes were similar to Transfiguration, life at Hogwarts would be interesting and they would be able to survive Professor Binns' tedious lessons. Right now, however, the loud rumbling of several stomachs made it clear that it was time for lunch break.

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On their way from Lupin's room back to the Great Hall, the three friends were each deep in thought. They had been so excited to finally be able to talk to Sirius in person again, to finally hear all about the secrets of the veil, but now… Not that they weren't glad to have him back, but something was wrong. Sirius had been evasive and hadn't actually told them anything about what had happened to him. Instead he had only wanted to talk about what they themselves had been through and what they had done over the summer.

Then it had been quite a shock for Ron and Hermione to learn about Harry's dreams._ Why couldn't Sirius keep that to himself? _Especially Hermione was livid that he hadn't told them and then, to top it all, the both of them had agreed with Sirius, when he had brought up the idea of taking up his occlumency lessons with Snape again. Occlumency with Snape! Harry would rather jump off Gryffindor tower…

Luckily, he had been able to postpone a decision on that matter and had distracted the others with a much more gratifying topic - the new students. Sirius seemed very interested in what they had to say about the newbies. Of course Hermione couldn't let the opportunity slip to reprimand him for his behaviour on the previous night. Sirius was obviously uneasy, but he told them that he had his reasons for acting that way. He refused to go into details, nevertheless, that was enough to boost Harry's distrust of Heero and apparently Ron's, too. Hermione, on the other side, found their attitude unjustified and rebuked them for being prejudiced since they didn't even know the boy. This only led to a heated argument between Ron and Hermione in which he eventually accused her of letting good looks interfere with her judgement. As a result, the Gryffindor girl sputtered and sported an interesting shade of red which did not go unnoticed by the others.

To diffuse the tension in the air Harry tried to coax more information out of his godfather who at least conceded that Remus had been sent out to find the colonial boy pretty much like Hagrid had been sent to get him. In the end, under the calming influence of a cup of tea, they settled on more harmless topics like Quidditch. However, Hermione and Ron remained slightly cross with one another. Eventually, Harry had actually been glad to leave for lunch, but he promised to visit Sirius as often as he could.

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At lunch break the new and old students reunited. However, the urge to eat all the delicious things waiting for them on the tables was delayed, as a crowd formed in front of the tutor list which was arranged by house. The gang consisting of the former pilots, Hilde, Harry and his friends decided to send Trowa, him being the tallest of the bunch, as their scout. It turned out that Hermione was to tutor Hilde, while Quatre was paired up with Ginny and Trowa and Duo with Fred, George, Harry and Ron.

The younger of the Weasley brothers muttered only for Harry to hear: "I'm sure they didn't trust them to do it right and now I have them on my back again…"

At the same time Trowa, Quatre and Duo whispered softly but animatedly. Finally Duo turned to their new friends.

"Uhm, Neville's last name is Longbottom, right?" He asked quietly, so that Neville himself wouldn't hear. "Do you think he will be a good tutor?"

"Why are you asking?" Hermione seemed doubtful.

"If he's not… he's as good as dead." Duo deadpanned. "He has to tutor H-… Yuy."

There was a short puzzled silence.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"How do you know Yuy?" Harry added.

"Oh, come on, he can't be that bad." Hermione cut in.

"Um, well, you'll see what I mean. And… we have… met... before…" Duo stuttered uncharacteristically.

Hilde tried to save the situation: "Oh, don't listen to him. They've known each other for some time and they just had an ugly quarrel. Yuy won't be a problem, he's just not very patient." She sent Duo, Quatre and Trowa a warning glare that shut them up.

The others accepted the explanation (for now) and tucked into the abundant food.

At the Ravenclaw table Wufei wasn't too occupied with his food and his conversation with Cho to notice the worried postures of his pilot friends. Unfortunately, they had their backs to him, so he could only lip-read Hilde's final statement in the exchange. Interesting… They had a problem with Yuy? Even more interesting was the fact that the one in question was obviously following their conversation from the far end of the table, a much better position than Wufei's own. Heero's expression was characteristically unreadable, but the fact that he was "listening" in… The Perfect Soldier shouldn't be showing any interest at all, should he? Unless…

"More spaghetti?" The boy sitting across from him asked.

"No, thanks. Um, what I was saying…" Wufei returned his attention to the girl beside him.

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After lunch break it was time for the first tutorial session under the supervision of Professor Flitwick. The groups were allowed to disperse on the Hogwarts grounds and the more experienced students were supposed to teach the newbies the basic Charms. Professor Flitwick and assistant teachers Lupin and Tonks would go from group to group to have an eye on what they were doing.

The tone among the Slytherin groups was rather harsh, as the older students considered teaching the ___ Wingardium Leviosa_ and the likes beneath their dignity. Draco Malfoy was rather glad that he had been paired up with a student, a bit younger than himself, who could be easily intimidated and showed at least a fraction of magical abilities. He kept an eye on Fys and Falger, however. That guy seemed relatively capable… but the girl? She was the living proof that (unlike what the pureblood advocates proclaimed) lineage did not automatically entail great talent. Malfoy could only smirk at that.

The Ravenclaw crowd worked methodically and with great dedication. The veteran students had a thorough grasp of what they were doing and most could explain it quite well. The newbies were eager to learn and fast to understand. Wufei even had the advantage of having two tutors, Cho Chang and a 7th year called Thomas Beans, and was one of the first to master the different charms. Overall, Ravenclaw was the first house to complete all the tasks for the day.

Hufflepuff students did not excel like Ravenclaw, but there was a very positive atmosphere among them and they didn't forget to have a little fun amidst the work.

The Gryffindor crowd was rather diverse. Pairing up Hilde and Hermione was a good choice as was putting Ginny together with Quatre. The two girls had contrasting characters, but they worked together well. Hermione managed to keep Hilde's hyperactive interest and put things understandably, so Hilde could prove her talent without trailing off. Quatre and Ginny were more or less on the same wavelength and worked with deep concentration, so they were soon done for the day. Both groups then decided to have a look at what the group of their six friends was doing.

Duo, Trowa, Harry, Ron and the twins were mixing fun and work, with the more level-headed members of the group balancing out the mischievous ones. Their visiting friends were astonished to see that, despite everything, the group was making good progress. It didn't really matter that Duo was sometimes accidentally (?) setting the leaves, he was supposed to let fly around, on fire. They got there in the end, under the friendly mockery of their friends.  
When Tonks appeared to check up on them, Hermione took her time to consider the change the new students had brought on. She never would have thought she would feel at ease if her group of friends enlarged. Yet here she was and there was no denying that those colonials surrounding her had become friends in no time. Her eyes came to rest on Quatre who had a strange look on his face. ___ Hm, what…? _ She followed his gaze to Trowa._ Oh,… _

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Whoever had decided to pair up Neville Longbottom and Heero Yuy ought to be shot. That was Remus Lupin's honest opinion as he neared the tree where the two of them were working. They were complete opposites and he doubted if the young colonial would learn anything this afternoon. And he hoped Neville wasn't having a nervous breakdown. However, the werewolf was about to witness what he would later call a little miracle, as he watched hidden from view.

Heero had brought along (smart thinking)a book on charms which they were now studying. Remembering the gist of the conversation he had "overheard", the former Wing pilot took care not to intimidate the other and try to be friendly. Neville, on the other hand, was completely clueless as to the fears for his life and was only slightly apprehensive that he was not up to the task. And indeed, he had trouble explaining things and when he tried to show the Wingardium Leviosa charm, well, suffice to say it was a complete disaster. Neville was just glad that the other didn't mock him. In fact, the boy was awfully quiet and his eyes seemed to look through him, but to his own surprise that didn't really bother the clumsy Gryffindor. It would have been much worse if those cool blue eyes scorned or pitied him, yet he could read nothing but perhaps mild interest in them.

"Hn," was Heero's only reaction at which Neville dared to show an embarrassed smile.

"I… I'm not very good at practical magic," he admitted shyly as he moved over to the strange boy who had grabbed the textbook.

After a short time of studying the necessary passages, Heero took out his wand and told Neville curtly how they would proceed.

"I'll give it a try and you tell me what you think I'm doing wrong."

Surprised by the tone of command, Neville simply nodded and watched.

"I think the movement has to be more swishy." Neville remarked.

And gaped. Heero had it right on the second try - incredible, the leaf he had practised on floated in the air. The boy cast him a questioning glance and Neville gave him the thumbs up. But he wasn't done with that, Heero ordered him to do it himself. With trembling fingers he gave it a try - failure. How awkward... Yet the other boy just ignored that, corrected him as he saw fit and showed him how he had done it once more. With a slightly impatient nod of the head, Heero indicated that it was Neville's turn again. And this time the leaf moved… Neville tapped his test subject again - and it floated into the air. He grinned from ear to ear and thanked the other boy enthusiastically.

Thus, the two had found a method to work together efficiently and they continued this way until even Neville had managed to apply all the charms they had been set to work on.

Remus could hardly pick up his jaw again, after he saw Neville putting the leaf afloat. It seemed that Dumbledore had had the right idea, after all. He apologised silently for ever having doubted the unconventional headmaster. That definitely had been interesting. He tried to withdraw from his lookout without attracting attention, but before he even moved, he found two narrowed blue eyes focused on his own. The half-glare seemed to indicate "You could have been more helpful" and he answered with a shrug and a smile. The other just narrowed his eyes more, nodded and returned to practising with Neville who hadn't noticed the exchange.

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Once all of the gang 1 were finished with their tutorial, they enjoyed the rest of the mild afternoon hanging out near the lake.

"I wonder how Neville fared with Yuy," Duo said suddenly.

"He'll be fine," Hilde answered with emphasis and a look that the former Deathscythe pilot should drop the subject.

"Why don't we go inside for dinner," Quatre suggested. "Then you can see for yourself, what fate had in store for him." The last part was spoken with mock severity.

They didn't have to search for Neville long, as they met him halfway to the castle. Everybody was flabbergasted to hear him humming softly to himself.

"Um, Neville? Are you alright." Hermione asked worriedly. She had never seen him that happy before. Maybe something had gone wrong and he had hit his head or something of that kind…

"Oh, hi there. I'm fine." He beamed and skipped off toward Gryffindor tower before they could inquire any further.

The others traded uncertain looks. Well, at least he was still alive and that was that. They went directly to the Great Hall and wolfed down their dinner. The new students exchanged tales of their achievements of the day, accounting for the high level of noise in the hall, but soon everything quieted down. They had had an exhausting day after all. The rest of the evening passed uneventful and most students retired for an early night.

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It was deep into the night, when Harry suddenly woke from his nightmare. Sometimes he wondered if something was seriously wrong with him. It couldn't be normal to have so much trouble sleeping. This time it had been one of his old nightmares. The one where he heard his parents last screams and saw the green lightning. Yet this time had been different. He actually_ saw _ his father and his mother hit by the deadly curses, but they didn't just crumble and fall - they… faded… Strange.

The sound of soft footsteps reached his ears. Then he heard a shower being turned on. Who in their right mind was taking a shower in the middle of the night? Harry risked a glance outside. The curtains on one bed were drawn and the bed was empty. But why… Harry was sure the other boy had showered only that evening. Weird. The shower seemed to run for hours, its sound almost lulling Harry back to sleep. Just as he was drifting off, he heard the night-owl return. He dared to peek through his curtains once more and was surprised to see the boy sit down on the window sill instead of going back to bed. He couldn't make out his face, but the other hugged his knees to his chest and seemed to stare off into the night. Harry lay back down again and yawned quietly. That guy was a mystery. Harry drifted back to sleep.

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Far away, someone else was plagued by strange dreams. These, however, were considered much more pleasant by the dreamer. Anybody else would find them dark and disturbing…

___ Friction. Warm naked skin. Sweat. A still body. Another one moving… slowly… faster… Nails scraping. Traces of blood. Dripping sweat. Changing rhythm… Rising heat… Ecstasy… Release… _

___His hands trailed the lines his passion had left on the soft skin. The other lay limp, almost like dead, those beautiful eyes closed, but he didn't care. The body might suffer, but the wounds would heal. The soul? That didn't matter. He had no use for an unblemished soul…_

___He didn't care that there was no mutual give and take. That the other did not respond. It made things even more enjoyable for him. Utter domination… He wanted to taste the evidence of it…  
He traced the thin lines of dripping blood with his tongue. The other twitched slightly, a reaction suppressed immediately. But he noticed… Well, well… Couldn't have that, could he? he thought pleased and annoyed at once. But he'd let it slide… There was enough time to weed out unwanted reactions in further training… Yet, if he could make the other respond to his ministrations… A smirk. That would be like double punishment… and doubly pleasing for himself. He felt his body reawaken at the thought. He repositioned himself… _

The dreamer awoke with a groan. What a dream…or rather a memory... His body might largely consist of spare parts, but here he had the proof that one important portion was still very much alive.

It had been part of the training. It had been punishment. And then he had been unable to stop himself. Never before had he realized how dead his body felt, how cold. Then he had relished in the heat the other unwillingly provided him with. Nothing else made him feel so alive. Complete. Despite his bodily shortcomings. There was no phantom pain, no cold…

He sighed at the memory. Maybe it hadn't been the end of the cold, he mused, maybe it had been the start. Maybe he had been suffering from withdrawal symptoms. That enticing body had been like an addiction… He took all the warmth he could get. How he had enjoyed having the other completely at his mercy… He felt his need rise. Unfortunately there was only one cure for his itch, and it wasn't at hand… Maybe he _ had_ made a mistake…

Reluctantly he got up to take a cold shower. The situation was utterly frustrating. Then, however, he remembered what he was about to do the next day and a cruel smirk appeared on his face. His report had had the desired effect and he had been asked to give his testimony via a video-conference. Maybe everything would go the way he hoped… And then he would be relieved of two problems at once… Satisfied with himself he grinned like a cat who got into the cream and went back to bed. He felt like things were looking up again.

After all, his little pet obeyed orders…

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1 I've had it with naming Duo, Quatre, Trowa, Harry, Ron, Hermione and changing additional cast separately - they are the gang, and I guess you're smart enough to recognise who belongs and who doesn't.

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_TBC!!! (alright, silver cateyes? ;-))_

_** AN: ** __ Hope you like it. Did I say no boring blabla? Well, here it comes. Once again I took my time to update. Sorry about that. And maybe you should know that I didn't use that time to work on the story - adding those nice finishing touches or ironing out the weaknesses (bad style, I know). I usually have all those ideas spinning in my head and turn them over and over without writing a single word. When I actually sit down, writing goes rather fast and once it's written, I can't wait to get it out (right now I'm just adding the rambling in the hope that, when I'm finished, I'll finally be able to connect to the damn net). I didn't edit this chapter properly and I don't have a beta, so you do the math. Sorry, if parts of the story remained more sketchy than any of us would like. But now enough of that.  
On a not so different note, remember to point out my mistakes (wrong word, wrong preposition, confusing sentence structure... anything), okay? _

___And as always, thanks for reading and reviewing._


	11. Ups and Downs

** Hogwarts AC 196**

** AN: ** _ If you're not a fan of author's notes I'd advise you to skip this since I'm in rambling mood. I'm pretty fed up with _ fanfiction dot net _ messing up my formatting. They even mutilated my footnote!!! (Which will probably happen again to this chapter...) I can understand that some people might overdo things, but scene dividers are only meant to add to reader-friendliness and other things are just stylistic devices that are part of the writer's tools. So please stop messing things up. Do you hear me? Thank you._

_To the readers who are missing Relena in this story. Well, I honestly had no intention of giving her a bigger role than what she has now. I might change my mind, but then she might not appear again at all. (There definitely will be no Relena-bashing, that much I can promise.) I have enough trouble giving every character his share of the story as it is...  
At this point I could continue rambling about my shortcomings in writing this, but you'll find out as you read and I've delayed you long enough - although, who actually reads ANs anyway? Right. Just one last (cryptic?) hint/warning/advice for when you're reading this chapter and - more importantly - some later ones: Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better..._

_Thanks for all those nice reviews. _

_And here comes chapter... oh my, we're already at chapter 11 and still at the beginning... _

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**Chapter 11: ** Ups and Downs

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Neville crashed down from his unnatural high the next morning, when he remembered the schedule for the day. Double Potions with Snape? Now that proved it once and for all, Snape had it in for them. Why else would he demand only the Gryffindor and Slytherin sixth years to sit in with the first lesson of the older newby group? It might seem paranoid, but Neville was sure Snape only wanted the opportunity to embarrass him even more in front of the Slytherins and the new students, and maybe do the same to Harry. The young Gryffindor felt weak in the knees as he walked along with a group of newbies towards the Potions classroom. He wished he could be in good spirits like the others… Then again, their attitude would probably change within no time, too. They just didn't know what was expecting them.

As he entered the dungeon that was Snape's own little realm, he noticed that the room had been magically enlarged to cater for the larger number of students. He spotted his friends Harry, Ron and Hermione towards the far end, and right at the back sat the boy he was to tutor. There was an empty seat next to Heero, so he might as well go and sit there.  
Neville had decided to try and befriend the other boy who had managed to teach him so much in just one afternoon. Yet that didn't seem all that easy, given the standoffishness the other radiated. And he hadn't seen him at dinner in the evening, nor at breakfast this morning. Who knew, the boy might just be fed up with him for being such a loser… Therefore Neville was relieved that Heero did not object when he took the seat. Potions was bad enough already without being rejected…

They waited for a few more minutes and the noise volume in the dungeon rose. It was highly unusual for Snape to be late. Many among the veteran students got their hopes high. Maybe, just maybe… The door opened with a bang.

It was Duo standing there, slightly out of breath. "Great… still on time…" he panted after his sprint from Gryffindor tower where he had forgotten his quill. Hermione shook her head.

"Just to let you know. You're lucky Snape's late, too. If you don't want to get into trouble, you better NEVER be late for Potions again, alright?"

"Oh, come on. We're not dealing with the devil himself, are we?"

"Maybe not himself, but the devil's spawn for sure…" Ron said under his breath as Duo took a seat next to Wufei.

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Snape was fuming as he hurried down the corridors to his classroom. That woman. They never should have allowed a… a… - he couldn't find the words to describe her - someone like her to become a teacher here. She wasn't any more mature than the students themselves. Only this morning she had charmed his robes with a spell that turned them into a bright yellow with blinking red hearts on it. He was quite shocked to find that he couldn't get rid of that spell quickly, so he had go back to his room and change. How could someone so clumsy perform such powerful spells? Snape was just glad she hadn't done that in front of the pupils. He would have been the laugh of the month. And now he was late. He was NEVER late. Damn woman. But he'd make sure the students wouldn't thank her. He would make THEM learn the hard way that nobody messed with Severus Snape.

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Snape entered the Potions classroom and the students fell silent. He closed the door with a bang and went through the register.

"Well," he then said with a sneer. "Some of you may wonder if potion-brewing is actually a form of magic. Let me tell you it is not only a science that demands precision and a thorough understanding of the procedures - it is an art that only few master in perfection. I don't know how you colonials are supposed to learn in three weeks what most of the others here present have not managed to grasp in five years. But if you aren't too much like the bunch of brain-dead dunderheads I usually teach, you should at least get up to par with your future classmates."

Silence followed this statement, until Duo could be heard whispering "I'm sure a teacher should show a little more respect towards his students…"

"Ah, Mr Maxwell. Do you have anything to add to what I just said?"

Snape shot the braided boy a glare that sent the shivers down Neville's spine. Most of the other students felt the same, but Duo wasn't overly impressed. Nevertheless, he thought it might be wiser to keep his big mouth shut for the moment and settled on a false smile and a cheerful "Nope."  
Once again he earned himself admiring glances from his fellow students and a frown from Snape. Unfortunately for him, and luckily for some of the other students, he had managed to attract Snape's attention for the day and would experience first-hand that the others' warnings were not unfounded.

After some more general remarks on the subject of potion-making and the finer points of preparing the ingredients, Snape wrote the steps to brew a simple anti-acne potion on the blackboard. The students were paired up according to their seating arrangement to work together as Snape walked around, always a biting comment on his lips. Harry couldn't help enjoying the fact that, for once, Potions was quite relaxed for him, though he spared Duo a sympathetic glance and some whispered advice every now and then.

As the lesson dragged on, Duo had problems to keep his hands from shaking slightly which didn't really help him and Wufei in preparing their potion. It wasn't that he was afraid of Snape. Oh no, that ugly git was hardly worrying him in the fear department, he'd seen far worse. Duo simply had trouble containing his rage at those undeservedly scathing remarks the teacher directed at everybody he deemed weaker. Wufei cast him some concerned looks.

"You are already on his bad side, so, please keep it down…"

The poor Chinese could only roll his eyes when his partner added double of the necessary amount of chopped nettles and Mandrake, which caused their cauldron to emit red sparks.

"What a waste of perfectly good ingredients," Snape sneered. "Maxwell, I sure hope your abilities in the other magical fields are more noticeable, otherwise I'd say you have no magical talent at all."

"Why, you…" a steaming neo-Gryffindor stood up.

"Five points from Gryffindor for your cheek. Sit down."

Surprisingly this made Duo shut up. He was just too stunned by the unfairness of it all. Snape couldn't hide his amusement as he looked for further victims for his chronic bad mood made worse by this morning's events.

Meanwhile, Quatre and Trowa were having other troubles, none related to the class they were currently attending. Their concentration was anywhere but on the potion they were brewing. Quatre couldn't help becoming aware of the warmth he felt when working so close with his taller friend. It gave him a strange tingling feeling when their shoulders touched. Why hadn't he noticed that before?

At the same time, Trowa's eyes kept wandering to Quatre's hands as they were busy processing the bubotuber pus. Nothing could be less alluring than bubotuber pus, yet those deft hands, so much smaller than his own… they had him almost entranced. He had always been close to the former Sandrock pilot but now… It was strange how he kept noticing all those little things about the blonde lately. Strange indeed.

Having an idea of what was going on with the duo in front of her, Hermione kept an eye on them. Not because she was overly curious (which on some level she was, of course), but because she wanted to make sure nothing went seriously wrong with the potion. She had been relieved to see that Neville seemed to be in capable hands with Heero and that Hilde, though not overjoyed with the atmosphere in class and the precision work required, was working well with her. And still she had to keep an eye out for others. Hermione shook her head in amusement.

Neville, for once, was quite pleased with how the lesson was progressing. To be honest, for him it probably was the best Potions ever. Heero was working meticulously and fast, so that it didn't matter if Neville just sat by and watched. The other didn't seem to mind him doing nothing. And Snape's wrath was directed elsewhere. In this setting, even Neville could find Potions interesting. That was a first.

As the lesson drew to an end, Snape started to examine the potions that were already finished, letting those students, who had managed to turn their potion into a stinking, fuming mush or something of the kind, feel his contempt.

"Hm. Malfoy, Goyle, very well done, as always. See, Maxwell, this is how it should be done."

The new students couldn't believe their ears. So Snape actually could commend somebody, after all. Duo was fuming. Malfoy only smirked and basked in the praise, while Snape went on running down the other students' efforts.

"Weasley, Potter," he sniffed at their potion. "I'm sure your 'soup' could have taken a little more heat."

The two boys in question couldn't care less. This time they had come off lightly. Snape went on with an anticipating smirk, to have a look at what Longbottom had produced with that boy the werewolf had dragged in. And was astonished, to say the least. He managed not to show it too openly, however.

"Longbottom, I must say I'm surprised." Snape said in a none too friendly tone.

Neville ducked his head down and looked onto the table.

"Or could it just be that you let your partner do all the work?"

"He didn't lift a finger," a malicious voice added in.

It was the Fys boy. He was one to talk, Severus thought as he glanced at that boy's potion, but, seeing he was a Slytherin, he would let that slide. He turned to Yuy, who had remained silent so far, with a well-measured glare.

"Is that so? Well, I'm glad to see you show more talent than your neighbour here. But the next time I tell you to work together, you will not do it on your own. Am I clear?" he said sharply.  
The boy looked back at him calmly, shrugged and nodded. Once more on this strange day, Severus was slightly taken aback. He couldn't detect any fear…

"Hey, are you mute, or what? Or is it that you can't speak English (1), Jap?"

Again that annoying Slytherin boy, just as he was trying to pry a little into the other's mind with his legilimency skills… There where several sniggers, in particular from the Slytherin side, but also angry glares from the Gryffindors who didn't like one of their own to be bashed. Again the boy remained calm. Nothing indicated that he _ had _ understood what was said.

Malfoy scrutinised the rather small, fine-boned boy who supposedly shared a room with Potter. _ What a pushover,_ was his conclusion. _ But that might be useful. _  
Of course he couldn't have been more mistaken, but he would find out soon enough just how wrong he was…

At that moment, one of the moderately failed potions decided it had blubbered for attention long enough and splattered the walls of the dungeon accompanied by shrieks of some unsuspecting newby girls. The more experienced students weren't overly surprised and gathered their things, knowing that once more Potions had come to a spectacular end.

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Duo could keep silent for only so long, as they left the dungeons and climbed the stairs towards the DADA classroom.

"What an asshole…" he almost shouted down the corridor. "I just hope that whoever is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts is more tolerable or I won't guarantee for anything."

"I can assure you, the worst of the day is behind us," Hermione told him. And Ron agreed with her.

"Yeah, actually Mo… Professor Lupin is like the best teacher we ever had."

"Hm. On my timetable it says Lupin and Tonks…" Quatre piped in.

"Isn't she…? Oh, that's alright then." Duo relaxed visibly.

"Unfortunately we're stuck with the Slytherins for the day…" Harry sighed. "Wonder what the other years are doing today."

"Fred and George told me they were digging the ground for a new greenhouse. That could have been a lie of course, but anyway - I prefer DADA to digging anytime…" Ron's face spoke volumes.

"Yeah," even Neville had recovered from Potions. "But Duo, you really put up with Snape admiringly. I can't stand when he glares down at me like that…"

"Well," Duo took on an important air and answered in the most fake-aristocratic tone he could manage. "If you are submitted to master death glares for approximately a year, you get immune to lesser glares…"

The other ex-pilots just shook their heads amusedly, while their new friends exchanged puzzled looks at the cryptic remark.

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Shortly after they had settled down in the DADA classroom, a slightly dishevelled looking Tonks entered dynamically. This time she wore psychedelic clothes and short yellow hair.

"Hi, there." She greeted them in a sunny mood. "For those who don't know me yet, my name is Tonks and I was asked to introduce you to DADA as an assistant teacher this year, though I do hope they can put up with me a little longer, but we'll see about that. Hm, what else. Oh, this class is taught by me AND Professor Lupin who should arrive before long, with our subject of the day. First we'll be covering dark creatures…"

"Yeah, like himself." a voice from the Slytherin crowd threw in.

Tonks' smile was replaced by a strict expression, giving them all the impression that clouds were darkening the sun.

"I will pretend I haven't heard that, but I won't tolerate any disrespectful behaviour toward me or Professor Lupin. That's the only warning you'll get, so behave."

The temperature in the room seemed to have dropped a few degrees, telling everybody that the easygoing teacher could become very nasty if need be. The newbies were confused, most of the veteran students (well, at least the Gryffindors) relieved and Tonks switched on her cheerful grin again.

"As I was saying, we'll be starting off with dark creatures and get to the dark uses of magic later on."

As Remus Lupin entered his classroom with a seemingly empty, large tank under his arm, Tonks was busy giving the new students a general overview of the subject. It looked like most of them were hanging onto her lips. He smiled and carefully placed the tank on teacher's desk. The whole class watched this, curiosity clearly written on their faces.

"Good morning," he said in his usual friendly manner. "I assume you all know who I am by now. Don't let me stop you Ny…- Tonks." He hastily corrected himself, knowing how much she hated her first name.  
Then he listened on patiently, observing the students as they took down their notes. After a short while, Tonks came to a halt and it was time for Remus to take over.

"So, this is where we come to today's subject. If you'd all come forward to have a closer look into the tank here… what do you see?"

There was some mumbling and murmuring as they stared into the different compartments of the container, until someone plucked up some courage and said loudly "Nothing, nothing at all."

"Exactly," Remus grinned. "And if I tell you that in there are several small creatures called Knotsies, does that ring a bell with somebody? Ah, yes, Hermione?"

"The Knotsy is an invisible pixie-like creature living on the edges of mountain ridges. It lures unsuspecting hikers towards precipices by imitating the sounds of a flute. Then it ties their shoelaces into knots to make them stumble and fall down into the abyss where they are slowly taken apart alive to serve as Knotsy food…" Hermione recited and several students signalled their disgust.

"Thank you, Hermione, that summarises it perfectly." Lupin said. "You can imagine these creatures pose a considerable threat to any human spending time in the mountains. So, knowing this, what do we do?"

Immediately Hermione's hand came up again, but Remus ignored her with a smile.

"Anybody else with some good ideas?"

Duo didn't bother with putting a hand up and said: "Don't follow the sounds of a flute." Giggles from several girls could be heard and even their teachers laughed.

"Right. That's actually some good advice. And now imagine you hear a flute and don't go near the edge, are you out of danger? No, the Knotsy is quite persistent. It is also known for attacking campers, tying them up in their own tents with unbreakable knots and dragging them off. Yes, um, what's your name?"

"Wufei. Search the grounds and try to make them visible."

"Precisely. And to do so, we use a simple charm that produces a special kind of bluish light which forces the Knotsy to become visible. They can't stand that, so they usually flee afterwards. Let's practice this spell without wants first. After me, please. _Azullux _!"

"Good, very good. Now, let's try it on the Knotsies here. Who wants to go first?… I'd like to give the new students a try, if you don't mind. How about you, what's your name?" He motioned to a certain Slytherin girl.

"Noemi Falger." She stepped forward with an arrogant air. The teachers covered the tank with a dark cloth, leaving one compartment open, and stepped back.

"Well then, Noemi. Go ahead."

She waved her wand in an unmotivated manner. "Azurlux." Nothing happened.

"Sorry, no 'r' in there, try again. With more emphasis on the 'lux'." Lupin said good-naturedly.

And this time it worked. A stream of blue light shot out of her wand and there in the tank stood an angry little creature that bore resemblance with a shrivelled root. It hissed and sputtered and knocked against the glass of the tank. The onlookers jumped back a little. "Ugh, that's ugly," someone said.

While the students tried to outdo one another with imaginative descriptions of its hideousness, the teachers uncovered another compartment and covered the first, to let the next student give it a try. After they had completed the round, they came back to the first Knotsy which had recovered and become invisible again. That way every student had a go and the time flew by. Before they realised, the lesson was over and it was time for lunch break. The mood among the Gryffindors when they left the DADA classroom was considerably brighter than when they had entered.

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"So," Harry asked his colonial friends when they had taken their seats in the Great Hall. "Did we exaggerate?"

"Nah, that was a great lesson." Duo said between taking bites from a slice of pizza. "Teachers are alright, too."

"Yeah," Quatre added thoughtfully. "But what was that about being a dark creature. Professor Lupin is anything but sinister…" Hermione, Harry and Ron exchanged worried glances.

"Well, you see… He's a werewolf. That's-probably-why-they-are-both-teaching-DADA, because-he's-bound-to-miss-a-class-once-a-month.But-he's-really-nice." Hermione spluttered out quickly.

"Um, could you run that by me once more? I think I heard the word werewolf?" the ever-silent Trowa couldn't help entering the conversation.

"You heard right..."

"Oh,…"

"But he's alright, really. He just takes the Wolfsbane Potion and then he's not dangerous at all!"

The others weren't completely convinced, but were willing to let the topic rest, considering what was awaiting them after lunch. Flying lessons. Though slightly wary, they were eager to get there.

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This time Madam Hooch supervised the tutorial which consisted of teaching the colonial students how to fly on a broomstick. Several school brooms were lying on the lawn opposite the Forbidden Forest, some students had brought their own. "Okay, everybody. Grab a broom and off you go, but don't go too high and don't try any reckless stunts the first time you're on it."

The colonials did as they were told and soon their tutors, who had long forgotten their 'first time', were trying to teach them the basics of flying. The gang around Harry had decided to remain in a large group (that meant so much more fun) with Neville and Heero hovering at the edge. They had just shown their partners how to make the broomsticks jump into their hands, when Harry noticed Professor McGonagall walking briskly into the grounds.

"Potter, twins, can I have a word with you…"

"What did you do now?" Ron whispered reproachfully.

"Hey, we didn't do anything… this time." The twins answered with mock exasperation, but followed McGonagall anyway, as she led them to the side.

"No need to look so worried, this is just about the Quidditch team, though you," she looked at the twins, "will not receive good news. You, Harry, are hereby reinstated as Gryffindor's team captain. Dolores Umbridge's ban has been repealed. You will probably have to choose a whole new team, though, as you, Fred and George, will no longer be a part of it. I am sorry to say that Snape has rightfully pointed out to the school committee that you would normally have left the school and it would be unfair to the other teams to allow older and thus more experienced players on the team. Another factor that decided against you is that your cheating in the exams should not be rewarded by an additional year on the team. So you're out. I'm sorry. Harry, have a good look if there's some talent among the new students."

And with that she left them to their actual task. For once the twins were at a loss for words and returned to the others with sagging shoulders. The others were none too pleased at the news either, though the colonials had of course no idea what Quidditch was. Soon, however, the twins had shrugged off their disappointment and laughed at Duo's antics on a broom.

The former Deathscythe pilot was the first of the novices in their group to zoom around. Quatre was rather hesitant and Trowa was loyally waiting until the blonde had gathered the courage to leave the firm ground without the security of advanced technology around him. Hilde had no trouble couragewise, but she seemed to have difficulties with the technique - or maybe she just had bad luck with her school broom. Heero, on the other hand, preferred to analyse the others before he tried his luck, then of course, being who he was, he rose into the air elegantly, no problem at all. He stayed on the sidelines, however, when they all (excluding Hermione and Neville who were staying on the ground) started to fool around, playing tag on their brooms with Wufei who had flown by. Especially Duo and Trowa were outdoing each other with acrobatic tricks, the part-time circus clown having a slight edge over the braided boy. Harry was certain he would have no difficulties appointing new members for the Quidditch team as he joined the fun. After familiarising himself with this magical item on his own, Heero joined Hermione and Neville on the ground. Not that the others would have included him in their child's play anyway…

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The rest of the afternoon was reserved for their homework which consisted of essays for both Potions (a lo.o.o.o.ng one) and DADA (a shorter one). In the Gryffindor common room, both Heero and Hermione were working in companionable silence on their essays while Ron introduced Trowa and Quatre to the finer points of wizard chess and Harry and the twins told Hilde and Duo all about Quidditch. By the time the four essays were finished, the other Gryffindors had yet to start working on them - they still had almost a week to finish, didn't they?  
Hermione felt it was nice to have found what seemed a kindred spirit for once, at least where homework was concerned. She still didn't know how to get more than one-word answers out of the boy. Just as she was watching him, wondering how to draw him out of his shell, he looked up from the book he was reading, his intriguing blue eyes meeting hers and she offered a friendly smile. To her surprise, he returned it (just a few fractions of a second late, but only he himself noticed, thinking about how to react) with a crooked half-smile, as if he had to remember how his facial muscles moved. It was gone in an instant and the boy returned to his reading, but Hermione felt it was a start.  
Gripping his book, Heero stared at the letters without reading. It was hard to fit in here. Some people were really nice like the girl opposite him. With others he found it hard not to strangle them like most of the Slytherins. And they were all so... so free. Yet he thought he had done quite well for his first attempts at socialising with Neville and Hermione, maybe that would put the others at ease… He still had no clue what was wrong, but they would have to realise that he was trying…

Another boy saw the exchange with mixed feelings. He had always wondered how the former Wing pilot's face would look with a smile, but it hurt that the other had never shown it to his fellow pilots, yet gave it so freely to a girl he hadn't even known for three days. It was pretty obvious that he didn't care at all that they were ignoring him. He ignored them right back, it seemed. Well, Duo Maxwell wasn't one to give up that easily and he'd make Heero realise that. He only had to think about a way how to do just that. Even if it meant he'd stare down the barrel of a gun from the receiving end.

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The rest of the day passed uneventful, until at midnight the newbies gathered at the Astronomy Tower while the experienced students were allowed to snuggle into their pillows. It soon became obvious to Professor Sinistra, that most of the colonials had excellent knowledge of the solar system and the universe. At the end of the lesson, there remained no doubt that the former Gundam pilots would ace this subject, but they were glad to finally be able to leave. As they parted toward the Ravenclaw house and Gryffindor tower respectively, Duo said with a big yawn "But tomorrow we have to start exploring this castle, okay? Can't wait to find some secret passageways and stuff…"  
The others agreed with him and silently, not to wake the others, they all trotted to bed.

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While Hogwarts was enjoying a peaceful evening, important events where taking place in another part of the world, Sanq to be exact. In a secluded room of the unremarkable off-white courthouse of the capital, the council specially appointed for this occasion was debating on the future of the Gundam pilots behind closed doors. Word had leaked out, however, that this evening they were about to hear a very important witness. So it was no wonder that, unknown to those directly concerned with the case, an intrusive member of the press had bugged the courtroom, in a quite literal sense.  
Rita Skeeter had once again taken the advantage of being an animagus, gaining access where all the rest of both the Muggle and the wizard press had to throw in the towel. From her prominent place at the chairman's back rest, she followed what was going on with great interest. Not even her vivid imagination could have prepared her for what she was hearing once the vid-link had been set up and the witness testified. She couldn't believe her ears. Now that was exactly what her declining career needed.  
Too bad, she wouldn't get her story into next day's edition of her newspaper, but since none of the other reporters had it… The day after, it might not be the newest news anymore, but still utterly sensational. Or maybe they'd put it in an extra. She could already see the headlines before her inner eye, herself basking in her newly established glory… Sensational. She couldn't wait to get out of there…

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(1) I haven't stated that so far, but I'm assuming that, while the other languages still exist, English has become the lingua franca or universal language in the GWxHP universe. I guess that is consistent with the development nowadays.

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TBC!!!

** AN: ** _ A question to the Harry Potter experts out there - do the Weasley twins actually know about the Invisibility cloak? And who the Marauders are? I'm not really sure and too lazy to flip through all the books to find out. It's not very important for my story but I'd really like to know... There was something else I wanted to ask you guys, but I guess that can wait till next time. If I remember... _

_And as always, thanks for reading and reviewing._


	12. Plots and Schemes

** Hogwarts AC 196**

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** AN: ** _ Ahem,... Sorry? _

Thanks to all who reviewed. I'm glad you're out there. 

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**Chapter 12: ** Plots and Schemes

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For the colonial students the third day of lessons did not start off too pleasantly - it began with waking up way too soon after their Astronomy class.

Yet Duo had considerably less difficulties getting up than the first day. A glance to his left, however, showed him an empty bed that looked as if nobody had slept in it. _ Does he never sleep in?_ For some reason he took that personally. Heero was annoying him immensely at the moment, although if asked he wouldn't be able to explain why exactly that was the case. As a matter of fact, he missed those death glares and threats on his life more than he would ever admit. Anything was better than the silent treatment he was receiving. Duo hated being ignored. But he'd teach him a lesson. Yeah, and that empty bed just gave him some good ideas… It was so brilliantly simple - but it would drive Heero nuts for sure. Duo grinned devilishly. He might get himself killed but that was definitely worth it. Definitely… 

When Duo entered the common room, he found two pale looking friends huddled on the sofa. "Hey, what's up?" he asked concerned. "Didn't sleep too well," Quatre mumbled as he got up, looking slightly out of it. Duo cast Trowa a glance who shrugged and said quietly "Nightmare." Duo accepted this explanation without question. They all suffered from nightmares from time to time, reliving the cruelties of war. Nobody could expect to do what the Gundam pilots had done without some repercussions. They could count themselves lucky to be alive after all. Duo presumed correctly that Trowa had stayed up to calm down the smaller boy.  
What none of them could guess was that Quatre had not dreamt about the past… 

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While the students gathered for breakfast, another inhabitant of Hogwarts was still deeply caught up in his own nightmares.

_ Again he was running, running from the shadows that were now his constant companions, but this time he was in his other form. This time, he could distinguish the faces and the voices swirling around him, they weren't as undefined and therefore less frightening than before, but he knew he had to keep moving. Something told him he would be stuck forever in this living hell if he didn't. It felt weird to actually run through the ghostly figures surrounding him. And the horror he had felt at first returned when all of a sudden his dream self realised that, among the looming shapes, were two faces he knew…_

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After breakfast the colonials went off for their first regular double Charms class. This day, they would be accompanied by Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw fifth years while the Gryffindor sixth years had to help cleaning out and reorganising the unrestricted area of the library. Apparently the twins' tale about the new greenhouse was true, after all.

Charms with Professor Flitwick was a thoroughly enjoyable lesson, especially since they were not totally new to the subject after their tutorial. And unlike the Slytherins, the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students were actually very likeable. Only the neo-Slytherins Daniel Fys and Noemi Falger were poisoning the atmosphere somewhat. Not really being ahead of the other, Muggle-born students in their group, they still got a kick out of mocking them for the occasional failed attempt. Like Draco, Fys seemed to think that Heero was the weakest link in his dorm and could be bullied to get at Harry Potter. And getting at the famous Gryffindor was important to get somewhere in the pecking order of the Slytherins.   
Unfortunately for them, the messy-haired boy did not make any mistakes to jeer at, so they had to resort to other means to bug him. When they started throwing paper balls, however, a sharp reprimand from their teacher made them give up for the moment. Time flew by, but at the end of the lesson they all had the satisfying feeling that they had learned a lot.

Hilde, Duo and Wufei used their short break in between Charms and their next class to start 'Operation Hogwarts Exploration' by examining a few side corridors they passed. Though when they came across caretaker Filch, who glared at them with the angry suspicion he harboured against all students, they hurried to get to their next lesson at the old greenhouse.   
They soon found that both Professor Sprout and the subject of Herbology were alright, but that was all there was to it. Neither Hilde nor the former pilots would ever name it as their favourite class. Out of them all, Trowa was probably the one who enjoyed repotting plants the most. 

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Leaving the impression of half-starved predatory animals, the students invaded the Great Hall at lunch break. The twins were already sitting there, immersed in an animated discussion, when the rest of the gang arrived. To Ron it was quite obvious that his brothers were plotting something and after a little bit of probing they admitted that they were planning their revenge on Snape for having them kicked out of the Quidditch team. Duo was all for it.

"I'm in, I'm in. I have a bone to pick with that grease-head, too."

The others were only mildly interested. Either they knew only too well that Snape wouldn't go down lightly or they just didn't want to get into trouble right in the first week. The three of them decided to talk things through during the evening in their common room. 

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In the afternoon, their tutorial took place in the library and was concerned with Ancient Runes. This subject was highly interesting to Wufei, but strained Hilde's and Duo's patience enormously. The twins could not be found and left the job of teaching their partners solely to Harry and Ron, who was actually quite glad to have them out of his hair.

The rest of the day was free and Harry told his friends he'd take Snuffles for a walk and fended off any attempts to accompany him. He wanted to talk to his godfather, so it wouldn't do to take along anyone who didn't know about Snuffles. Hopefully, Sirius wouldn't insist on further Occlumency lessons once he told him about the newest nightmare. Maybe he should keep that to himself… Yet he still had to talk with him. He needed the reassurance that his father's best friend was alright and close by. 

Hermione decided she would make good use of her free time and return to the library where, to her surprise, she found Heero already immersed in a book about DADA.  
The other former pilots took to the grounds for an improvised picnic which actually served to plan the details for the night to come, namely their familiarisation with the castle. At the same time Hilde was keeping Ron occupied to prevent him from getting suspicious. She didn't mind the task, though. Playing wizard chess with the redhead was a rather pleasant pastime, albeit she did not manage to beat him once.

At the same time, Hermione spontaneously decided to drop her plans of research and try to get the strange boy to talk. After several attempts followed by uncomfortable silence, she stopped prodding for personal information (receiving only annoyed glares, she was actually surprised that the boy didn't just get up and leave) and talked about Hogwarts instead. This seemed to be a turning point and what had looked like a hopeless undertaking turned into an enjoyable afternoon. Heero was surprisingly easy to talk to, even though he rarely volunteered information, but when he did, it was always well-founded and thought through. That appealed to the Gryffindor girl who seldom found as good a listener as that boy. 

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After dinner, the Gryffindor students reassembled in their common room. Duo and the twins immediately secured one corner of the room for themselves in order to plot their revenge on Snape. At the same time, Quatre and Trowa let Hilde in on their plans for the night. Hermione, Ginny and some of the other girls talked about the latest equal opportunities decree from the Ministry of Magic while Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean and Neville discussed the likelihood of Professor Trelawney finding a new victim for her death predictions instead of Harry during the newby class the next day. Heero had claimed once again one of the window sills and seemed wrapped up in an Arithmancy textbook. In all actuality he _ was _ concentrating on the book, but, if anything, he was _ perfect _ at multitasking, so his not quite naturally keen ears kept him tuned in to the snatches of conversation that were floating through the room.

"Listen. Here's the plan." That was the voice of George. Or was it Fred?

"Snape is keeping us from the Quidditch team, so we are keeping him out of the Potions classroom and his office…" The other twin told Duo who, a glance in his direction proved it, was all ears.

"We decided to take one step at a time. This castle is way too large to get through in one night…" That would be Quatre speaking to Hilde.

"…That is ridiculous. It will never ensure that more women reach top positions in the Ministry…" Ginny?

"…We used our tutorial time for some research and a trip to the wondrous world…"

"…that is Zonko's. Very inspiring, we can tell you…"

"… we'll work our way down and get to the different towers later…"

"…but we don't have Divination with them tomorrow. She'll have to resort to another dramatic vision to impress the newbies…"

"… we'll use our very own Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes super glue to block both doors…"

"… I gathered we'll have to watch out for the caretaker and his cat…"

"… if he uses _ Alohomora _ the glue will only stick even stronger…"

"… and should he still manage to open the doors, there will be a few surprises ready…"

"… meet here at one hundred…" Military speech. A nice way to communicate, wasn't it?

"… thought we'd do it on Friday to give the glue more time to harden…"

"… Wufei will wait for us outside.."

And so the evening passed with reading, discussing, scheming… When they retired, there were many students who had anything but sleeping on their minds. 

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Duo was already lying in bed when he remembered his little prank on Heero. He smirked with anticipation and waited for Heero, who was last of their dorm to come from the bathroom, to arrive. Looking through a slit in his bed curtains, he kept his eyes trained on the bed to his left.

Heero was really looking forward to his bed. He had had very little sleep during the last few nights and, though he normally wouldn't be affected by that, in this respect it showed that he was still recovering from the past months. And he still hadn't decided whether he ought to keep an eye on his friends when they went on their 'expedition' or not… Being the last, he turned off the lights, padded quietly to his bed and got in. That is, he _ tried _ to get in.  
_An apple-pie bed. _ He sighed softly and refrained from glaring in Duo's direction (_ who else would do this? _). Instead he gritted his teeth and quickly remade his bed. He was just too tired to get mad. That didn't mean it didn't hurt. _What had he done now to deserve more punishment? Or was it just part of the whole deal? Why did they resort to such petty things? What…? _ He really didn't want to think about this anymore. The thoughts just kept spinning in his head and he couldn't make heads or tail of them. He would just have to wait and see - calmly, accepting - and maybe they would find it in them to forgive him, to trust him again. He finished and, keeping his back to Duo, crawled under the sheets. For some reason his eyes were burning again. Tiredly he closed them.

Duo couldn't believe it. That was it? No reaction? Nothing at all? Okay, so it hadn't been the most spectacular prank of the century, but still… Heero was so fastidious in some respects, he had been sure this would get a rise out of him. Damn. _ But this isn't over yet _, a fuming Duo thought somewhat irrationally, _ we'll see who's gonna break first. Just you wait… _

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Some time later in the night, Harry opened his eyes, unsure what could have woken him up. Then he saw the shadow of a braided boy moving about the room. During the day, Harry had noticed that Duo and his friends were up to something, though he didn't know what. As Duo left the room silently, Harry wondered whether he should follow. What if they got themselves into trouble (he knew from personal experience how easy that could happen at Hogwarts…)? What if they ran into Filch? Or even worse - what if they were…? No. He couldn't bring himself to believe that. Maybe he was too trusting, but he was sure he had nothing to fear from them. Nevertheless it might be better to check on them… He carefully went to his trunk. 

Unbeknownst to Harry, another occupant of the room was having similar thoughts. Heero still hadn't come to a conclusion if he ought to keep track of the others or not. Just when he was leaning towards following his former comrades, he noticed another shadow creeping about the room. Harry. What was _ he _ up to. He watched the other boy rummaging through his trunk, pulling out some kind of cloak and then… vanish. What the…! Heero blinked. The door opened and closed again as if by its own accord. Now that was interesting. An Invisibility cloak…  
Heero didn't take the time to contemplate how easily he accepted things he would have thought impossible only a few weeks ago. More important was the question if Harry posed a threat to the others. He did not really think so. Although the young wizard had been somewhat hostile against the ex-pilot of Wing himself, he had been nothing but friendly towards the others. Additionally, Harry had apparently proved himself so many times against the dark forces that he was deemed 'good' by everybody. And that meant they were undoubtedly on the same side. He was probably just curious. Besides, the former pilots, and Hilde as well, were more than capable to cope on their own. After all, they had survived the war. Heero decided to let things run their course for once (wouldn't the others appreciate that?) and get some well-deserved sleep.  
Unfortunately, that was not to happen. Instead of sound sleep, he only found nightmares from his past. Heero got up. It was no use, he had to work off some steam before he could even hope to get some shuteye. So barely a few minutes had passed before another of the dorm mates left. The remaining two students never became aware of how deserted the room had got.  
And nobody noticed the lone figure that strode determinedly towards the Forbidden Forest… 

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About an hour after he had left, Harry returned to his dorm. That had been fun, although he had remained an uninvolved observer. Those five colonials had acted like kids playing cops and robbers. Or maybe rather soldiers… Harry didn't dwell on that thought, however. They had been surprisingly thorough in their exploration of Hogwarts, yet Hilde and Duo always brought in the fun element. They had a near run-in with Filch, but avoided further trouble. Luckily Peeves had been elsewhere. Harry had been close to revealing himself, decided against it, however. After all, not even the twins knew about the Invisibility cloak and it might be wiser to keep it a secret. Once he actually thought he had been caught, as, at one point, Trowa seemed to stare straight into his eyes, but apparently that was just a coincidence. Smiling to himself, Harry carefully placed the cloak back in his trunk. Crawling back under the sheets, he failed to notice that one more of his room mates other than Duo was missing… 

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Another hour or so later, it was Duo's turn to come back. He was in an exceptionally good mood after their expedition, that mood took a downward turn, however, once he took a look at the other beds in his dorm, the regular breathing revealing that their occupants were apparently all fast asleep. That in itself was a good thing, of course, but he couldn't help the return of that annoyed feeling when his eyes fell on a certain bed. Well, if that wasn't the proof that Heero didn't care at all about what they were doing… On a whim he decided to take a quick shower.  
In the bathroom, he closed his eyes with relish as he waited for the jet of pleasant, warm water… FUCK! He nearly jumped out of the cubicle. That was scalding! Some very heat resistant, crazy person must have used this shower shortly before him for the water to still be near boiling point in the pipes. Damn. Suddenly he lost every desire for a nice, relaxing shower. He went back to the dorm. The trip to the bathroom had done nothing for his mood. Duo almost pounced his bed and was dead to the world in no time, missing how one of his dorm mates slowly released the breath he had held, before the room fell completely silent … 

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Another dorm in the Gryffindor tower was far less silent. One of the students was tossing and turning in sweat-soaked sheets.

_ There was pain, so much pain… And his surroundings seemed to go up in flames. The smoke was suffocating. Some strange flashes were zigzagging around him. He was bleeding. There were some shadow-like people wrapped in dark cloaks. They were… attacking. Suddenly an enormous roar. He lifted his eyes. There, against the darkening sky, he was met with a sight strangely familiar, yet disconcertingly different. Two airborne Gundams in a close-range fight against one another. They were moving so swiftly, he could hardly make out their contours. Again they went at each other, getting so intertwined, he couldn't tell them apart. A huge explosion seemed to tear both mechas to pieces and they started tumbling towards the ground, locked in a deadly embrace. Another fiery explosion shook the earth. _ And Quatre screamed.

He felt gentle hands carefully shaking him to wakefulness, then strong arms enveloping him. Unable to suppress his sobs, he leaned his head against Trowa's shoulder while his taller friend kept whispering soothing words into his ears. Seeing the situation under control, their room mates, who had been startled out of their sleep, returned to their beds. After Quatre had sufficiently calmed down, Trowa fell silent, but kept rubbing the blonde's back in comfort. They stayed like that for a while until Quatre lost the fight against sleepiness. He barely managed a soft 'thank you' before his eyes drifted shut. No more words were needed, however. Trowa kept watch over him until he was satisfied that the other was indeed deeply asleep, before he went back to his own bed. When he dozed off, his face still displayed a worried frown. 

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The next morning, many of the Gryffindor students found their way to breakfast rather late. They were puzzled by the heated discussions going on. The Great Hall resembled a buzzing beehive, more so than ever.

They soon found out what caused the stir. There were many copies of _The Quibbler _ and _ The Daily Prophet _ passed around among the students and from each and every single one a glamorous portrait of Rita Skeeter, trash reporter extraordinaire, stared right back at them.  
'Killer Machine on the Loose' was one headline, the slightly more neutral 'Sensational Statement - Gundam Trials Reach Critical Stage' was another.

'Great, she's done it again,' was Hermione's first thought as she almost snatched her _DP_ copy from the owl delivering her subscription. Then she was immediately absorbed in the animagus reporter's newest 'sensational' outpourings, not noticing the exchange of worried looks between her new colonial friends as they too read the headlines and the whole gang gathered behind her to have a look over her shoulder.

"Well-informed sources - phh…" Harry quoted wryly.

"I thought it was a trial behind closed doors, how does she know all this?" Quatre was aghast.

After reading about the happenings at the Sanq courthouse, they all sat down to have their breakfast, but were mostly playing with the food somewhat absently. Hermione had lost her appetite and suddenly jumped up.

"Swapping DP for Quibbler!" And before long she was provided with the other paper. This time, they all waited expectantly until she had finished with the second account. After a short while she pushed the paper away with a disgusted expression.

Shaking her head, she resignedly said: "I can't believe it."

"What does it say?" the others asked with mixed emotions.

"Well, the gist of it is the same as in the DP. Her _ reliable _ sources informed her about the statement given by an important witness, none other than the superior of the infamous pilot 01 himself. An anonymous renowned scientist who conditioned the pilot to be the perfect terrorist, killer machine or… other nice denominations of the same thing."

She made a face at her own words and went on in that slightly ridiculing tone of voice.

"He admits that at one point they lost control and 01 started acting on his own accord. He states that 01 was the leader of the group of pilots and is responsible for the most outrageous atrocities committed during the war. He was supposed to be reconditioned in peacetime, but slipped through their fingers after the war. The witness has no knowledge of his exact whereabouts. The pilot poses a considerable threat for society and should be punished severely if caught. But more personal information about 01 will remain classified, since it would be perilous for the public or even usual police forces to try and detain him. The scientist regrets the outcome of his experiment, but assures that they are hot on 01's trail. Yadda yadda yadda… Basically, he washes his hands of it all… Oh, and should word get out, he orders 01 to return to his base and surrender… The statement might change the outcome of the trial and sway the public opinion… Yeah, I guess that's it. It's almost as if he tries to get his own pilot convicted…"

Once again Hermione could only shake her head. The others who had been hanging on to her lips murmured their agreement. The former pilots almost in a state of shock, yet they knew they couldn't voice their opinions too openly and could not discuss what to do right now, hard as it might seem. They could just not afford to draw much attention. What was J trying achieve? They cast a glance towards the 'star of the show' who was once again sitting at the far end of their table. He obviously had got hold of a newspaper and was now staring at it with slightly narrowed eyes. It was slightly depressing to think that they were the ones to know Heero best yet even at a moment like this they couldn't tell what he was thinking.

Different opinions were flying through the air. Some of the students advocated the death sentence for all pilots, others believed they were dealing with a scheme against war heroes, most found their position somewhere in between. Before even an attempt to find a common ground could be made, it was time for the first class. Care of Magical Creatures. 

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It was a very distracted group of newbies accompanied by equally preoccupied Hufflepuff and Slytherin fourth years that arrived at Hagrid's hut. Not really the right frame of mind when confronted with what their teacher had in store for them.

Not even Trowa could contain an awed gasp as he set eyes on the most fantastic, yet beautiful creatures he had ever seen.

"Hippogriffs." The veteran students informed the others in a fearful tone.

Unfortunately the fear, or at least respect, these creatures inspired in the students, did not result in the necessary attention while Hagrid was explaining how to deal with them. So it was no wonder that, after a while - the former pilots and Hilde were among the first to successfully try their luck and now the less courageous majority remained - one of the sidetracked colonials forgot to bow before the proud Hippogriff… In a matter of seconds the enraged creature attacked. Hagrid was busy helping another student with 'his' Hippogriff and reacted too late. He could only watch… as Trowa darted in front of the other student and called out to the magical being.

"Stop! Don't do that… He didn't know any better. Please!"

And to everybody's surprise the Hippogriff did stop. It turned one blinking eye to the daring student, curious as to who was so bold and respectful at the same time, whose words seemed to reach into its core. Something akin to amusement seemed to flash through the fiery eye and the creature huffed and returned to its place, once again assuming its haughty posture.

As one the humans let out a sigh of relief and Hagrid thought it wise to end his lesson early, wondering whether in the future he really should refrain from introducing Hippogriffs to his students. He didn't seem to have much luck with them during lessons. 

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The incident with the Hippogriff replaced the Gundam trials as topic number one among the group. There were many who patted Trowa on the back for his brave act on their way to Ancient Runes. And many even passed this lesson in a daze, but their tutorial the day before had most of them well prepared, so it wasn't too troublesome. It wasn't an easy subject, but in the first place it demanded hard work and did not so much depend on talent. Nevertheless, they were all (including the slightly desperate teacher) glad to have their lunch break. The students almost stormed out of the classroom. 

Caught up in his own dark thoughts, Heero was trailing behind and dismissed the presence behind him, until a body bumped into him harshly, making him drop his books. Before he could react, the other shoved him with his back into the wall, making it clear this was no accident. Heero looked into the smirking face of none other than Draco Malfoy, but the hand at his throat did not deter him from sending the Slytherin a toned down glare.

"What do you want?" he asked gruffly.

"Ooh, you're not getting cheeky, are you."

Draco really did his best to sound threatening, but to the most wanted terrorist of the moment it seemed like a bad joke, the lacking imitation of a second rate movie. Yet he kept his countenance admirably and just remained silent, wondering what he had gotten himself into now.

"You see, we Slytherins are in a constant feud with the Gryffindors. And sometimes things get a little ugly…" the Slytherin banged the Gryffindor's head against the wall for emphasis. "I'm sure you don't really want to learn this the hard way, so here's my deal for you. You cooperate with us and we'll treat you nicely…"

Now Heero didn't take someone banging his head somewhere too well (to say nothing of his aversion to being touched at all), so he decided he had enough. After this morning's news, he was running on a short fuse anyway.  
A slight change in those Prussian blue eyes was the only warning Draco received before the tables were turned. Suddenly the other didn't look so harmless anymore, if the cold death glare was any indication, and spontaneously attacking the other when he encountered him alone and 'helpless' didn't seem such a good idea anymore. He hadn't even thought through half of this, when he found himself on the ground struggling for breath as the smaller boy virtually crushed _ his _ throat with one hand, the other holding down Draco's wrists.

Heero lowered his head and said in a dangerously low voice: "Leave me alone." For good measure he added another high voltage glare before he picked up his things and walked away without sparing the Slytherin another glance.

Draco remained motionless on the floor for a few moments before getting up and looking around cautiously. Thankfully there had been no witnesses. He brushed off his clothes and carefully touched his throat. Damn, he would have to wear a scarf or a turtleneck for a few days… Next time he wouldn't underestimate his opponent. There was more behind those blue eyes and that slight build than he thought…

The young Slytherin wasn't entirely correct about his assessment of the situation. There _ had _ been a witness. He didn't need to fear for his reputation, though. The soft clicking of four paws could be heard as they withdrew from the scene… 

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Lunch was a rather subdued affair for the Gryffindor gang. The former pilots were contemplating all the implications of the news from the trial and were itching to talk it through with the others, even though they knew they had to be on the alert. However, even those not directly involved were wondering what their world was coming to. Nobody noticed the absence of one messy-haired, blue-eyed Gryffindor… 

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After lunch the newbies headed off towards the North Tower where they were supposed to undergo their first Divination lesson. They climbed the silvery ladder that led to the trap door to their classroom and received the umpteenth shock of the day at the sight of the strange interior. Worse even was the first impression of their teacher who greeted them with a pseudo dramatic entrance. During her welcoming monologue a soft voice that belonged unmistakably to Duo whispered in the direction of Hilde: "Bah, humbug…" She pretended to cough. Luckily, Professor Trelawney was much too self-absorbed to hear him.

They learned that they were starting on reading tea leaves to progress with the crystal ball and finish their introduction weeks with dream interpretation. This caught Quatre's interest and Trowa could barely hide a smile. Something told him his blonde friend would be quite good at this subject.

And he was right. While the most were making up things to at least do something and others were just staring off into space, the former Sandrock pilot really seemed able to see something which impressed even their teacher.  
Not enough to keep her from her usual ominous prediction at the start of the year, however. While she went from student to student, adding in her two cents every once in while, she suddenly clutched a hand to her heart.

"Oh, dear… you poor, poor boy… I'm so sorry… I can't…" After a dramatic pause she continued in a gloomy voice. "You have the Grim." That of course only earned her puzzled looks. And she elaborated. "The omen of death…" Many gasps could be heard, but the chocolate-haired boy in question only rolled his deep blue eyes.

Before Sybill Trelawney could continue her act, however, something unexpected disrupted the class. All of a sudden Quatre's body went completely stiff, he rolled his eyes and spoke in an unnaturally deep voice: "Two worlds combined, the downfall of the light. Trust and love without fail, the light will prevail." Then he collapsed. The class broke off in complete confusion and the blonde ex-pilot was ushered to the hospital wing. His friends were dumbfounded. 

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At the same time, there were other interesting developments. The twins used their free time to trail their unloved Potions professor. This led them unexpectedly to their well-loved headmaster's office. Although they felt a deep respect for Professor Dumbledore, the twins could not curb their curiosity. Fortunately, they had their 'extendable ears' handy and so they became witnesses of what Snape had to tell Dumbledore, something that was never meant to leave the headmaster's office. There was a spy at Hogwarts… 

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TBC! 

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** AN: ** _ And as always, thanks for reading and reviewing._


	13. Bonds of Friendship

** Hogwarts AC 196 **

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** AN:   
** _ So here it is, the next chapter. I may have overdone on the introspectiveness, but it just kept flowing (unfortunately not like I planned. Everything is just too obvious now...). Tell me what you think. I hope you'll enjoy nonetheless. _

To ** Crimson Shinigami-16: ** Once more, in case you neither received my e-mail nor read my bio (which now will be redone): Go ahead. I'm curious to see what you'll make of it. And thanks again. 

To **ghy ** (though I doubt you read this far): I do happen to know there is a crossover section. However, I don't think there is a rule I have to place this fic there. And though I'm mostly writing this for myself, I'll admit that I love to get reviews. As far as I can see my chances to get some response are far better here than in the crossovers.   
Besides, I believe in the intelligence of the reader - anyone who is looking for a GW/HP x-over will surely know where to look for it (i.e. in both the HP AND the GW sections). So there. 

Let's get on with the story. But not before  I thank all those who reviewed. 

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** Chapter 13: ** Bonds of Friendship 

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Harry, Ron and Hermione were enjoying the afternoon sun near the lake, when they saw a group of loud young Gryffindors approach, among them one of Harry's 'number one fans', Dennis Creevey. Annoyed by the disruption and curious about their obvious excitement, Hermione couldn't stop herself from asking what the fuss was all about. 

"Haven't you heard about the uproar during Professor Trelawney's lesson?" one of them replied astonished. 

"Apparently one of the new students had some kind of attack. But some people say he actually had a premonition…" Another added. 

A sense of foreboding invaded them all. Filled with worry for their new-found friends, Ron inquired: "Which student was it?" 

"Winner, they say he had to be taken to the hospital wing…" 

Before Dennis even finished his tale, the three friends had taken off towards the castle. At the hospital wing they were met with the sight of four very dejected-looking friends. Trowa was pacing to and fro silently.

"They won't let us in to him," Duo explained, his anxiety showing in his eyes. "He's still unconscious." 

"We don't even know what happened there…" Hilde trailed off. 

Wufei, the only one of the group who seemed in control, but was deeply worried inside, broke the ensuing silence to relate to the new arrivals what exactly had occurred during that remarkable Divination lesson and asked them what they could make of it. 

"If you ask me," Harry replied hesitantly, "Quatre really had a vision. I once witnessed Trelawney have one - what you just told us sounded pretty much the same, although she didn't collapse… She didn't remember, though. Has Quatre ever before showed signs of the foresight?" 

The others exchanged some unreadable looks, then Duo answered cautiously: "No, nothing like that. Although he always knows pretty well what people are feeling. I guess you could call him an empath…" 

The Gryffindor threesome nodded, somehow that fit their view of the blonde colonial. 

"Well, if it _ was _ a premonition," Duo continued, "I don't get it. What do you think he meant?" 

Poppy Pomfrey chose that moment to open the door to the ward and bade them to come in. 

"Your friend will be alright," she assured them with a smile. "He's simply sleeping now. The first experience of the second sight can put quite a strain on the body and can be overwhelming to the mind." Again she smiled at the worried faces. "It is a highly unusual gift even in the wizarding world, you should take good care of him…" 

With that she left them alone and they gathered around Quatre's bed. Trowa gently took Quatre's hand into his own, without even registering it. The others, however, did, but nobody commented. It seemed natural. 

After a short while spent in silence, a low moan was heard from the bed and slowly Quatre opened his eyes. He blinked curiously at the anxious faces looking down at him. "What happened?" he asked, his voice reflecting his confusion. 

"What is the last thing you remember?" Harry asked cautiously. 

"Um," Quatre needed a moment to gather his thoughts. "We were in Trelawney's class… And she was telling Heero about some bad omen…" The veteran students noted with surprise how casually that name flowed out of his mouth. "…and then I felt cold… and suddenly nothing. What _ happened _ there?" 

"Well, my friend. You're hereby appointed to be our own personal oracle…" Duo once more tried to lighten the mood, but the blonde only stared at him in puzzlement. 

"What… But I… huh?" 

"You made a prediction, young friend." A new voice cut in. Quatre turned his eyes to the newcomer who had arrived unnoticed. 

"But Professor Dumbledore… I never…" The old wizard raised his hand in a calming gesture. 

"Hogwarts seems to have a mysterious influence on its students. After some time spent here, they often find the most unusual talents, undetected before, suddenly awaken… The gift of a seer, however, young Quatre, that is quite rare indeed..." He smiled benevolently, his eyes sparkling. "Now that you found out, I believe you should rest. You will become used to the idea… Well, I was actually looking for Poppy…" 

Somewhat absent-mindedly the headmaster went through to the nurse's office. The students gathered near Quatre's bed exchanged looks that were at the same time perplexed, relieved and amused. 

"So," Quatre broke the silence. "What did I foretell?" 

They told him and he had to admit that he himself had no idea what it was supposed to mean. There was a knock at the door and Professor Lupin popped his head around the door. "May I come in?" They all voiced their agreement and their smiles widened when they spotted the large amounts of chocolate he brought along. Once more the story needed retelling and the colonials took to the young teacher very soon, as they noticed that he showed some real interest and not just superficial curiosity. 

Quatre leaned back and watched the conversation unfold while his own thoughts kept returning to what now seemed fact - that he had the strange gift of sight. He felt a little overwhelmed at the thought. Would that mean that his whole life changed? What good were predictions if nobody understood them? He recalled the Divination class, how this odd feeling had invaded him… But there was something else nagging him… Suddenly he knew it. 

"Hey, where's Heero?" All eyes turned to Quatre. 

"Don't get me wrong, but why would _ he _ be here?" Ron asked with a hint of incredulity. 

"Yeah," Duo cut in cynically. "Why would he?" 

_ Was it too much to ask for Heero to drop by and inquire after his friend, well, if not that, after his comrade then. _ The worry about Quatre had completely pushed the disturbing news on the trial not only from Duo's but from all their minds. 

Those who didn't know the former Gundam pilots very well were astounded at the venom in his voice and even Hilde started to wonder… They had told her that the whole situation was caused by Heero's rejection of their friendship, his failure to contact them… Why didn't Duo just talk it over with him, if it affected him so much? Maybe they hadn't told her everything? Or maybe they were just irrevocably fed up with their former comrade in arms. For some reason that thought made her sad and she sent Duo a warning look. Even if things couldn't be fixed between the five of them, the braided boy needed to keep himself in check lest he blew their cover… 

Another person in the room noted the change in tone with sadness. Remus Lupin felt it wasn't his place to meddle so, with some remorse, he decided not to tell the students present what had happened on his way here. 

Quatre cleared his throat with agitation. "I just remembered the lesson… Trelawney did predict his death, didn't she?" He asked unsure. 

"Oh, really?" Ron laughed. "No need to worry. She has predicted Harry's death at least 50 times and as you can see he is still very much alive." Despite everything, the newbies felt relieved. 

"Indeed," Remus, too, tried to reassure the blonde. "her predictions during her classes are actually quite predictable… There usually is nothing behind them." He couldn't help remembering, though... 

All of a sudden Quatre's sight wavered as he looked into the teacher's amber eyes. It was replaced by the mental picture of a battered body lying on cardboard - Heero! 

"What?" he asked confused shaking the image away. 

"Pardon me?" Lupin was equally puzzled. 

Quatre glanced inquiringly up to Trowa who looked back with obvious concern. He felt a wave of concern wash over him, bordering on a deep-rooted fear… Quatre recoiled and moved his gaze from face to face. When he met the others' eyes a huge flow of images and emotions that were not his own invaded his mind. He tried to shake them off to no avail. Then he couldn't take it anymore. He covered his head with his arms and started to scream out his anguish. 

Poppy Pomfrey and Albus Dumbledore rushed into the room, wands drawn, and the nurse demanded of everyone but the patient and the headmaster to leave. And again they all remained in front of the infirmary, waiting for news about Quatre. 

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Heero had immediately followed the group of five who carried Quatre to the hospital wing, although they did not notice his presence. When the others had to wait outside, he had kept his distance, hidden in a recess of the same corridor. 

_ Would they accept him there? Would they _ want _ him to be there? _ He doubted it, but he needed to know if Quatre was alright. So he stayed, out of sight. He saw their concern and worried with them. He watched Harry, Ron and Hermione arrive in a hurry, glad that already the others had found friends who shared their troubles. They did not need him, never did, but he still needed to know.   
When the school nurse allowed them in, he moved forward, to the dark corner near the door, where he, if no-one else, would be able to hear what was going on inside…  
Relief flooded him when he heard the nurse's explanation, even more when he perceived Quatre's own voice. He immediately pulled himself together, however, when he saw the headmaster approach, and slid further into the shadows. Luckily, Professor Dumbledore seemed too preoccupied to notice him. The old wizard's words of explanation for the others were the last information his eavesdropping provided before he took his leave. 

He needed to go someplace quiet to clear his mind. There were many things he needed to think about… Heero was so deep in thought, he almost collided with Professor Lupin as he rounded the corner. Not even bothering to apologise, he went on feeling the mystified stare of the werewolf on his back. 

He needed to get out. Get out desperately. He felt uncomfortable in his own skin, itchy. Now that the question of Quatre's condition had been cleared, his personal problem came back with a vengeance. Absent-mindedly he scratched his arm as he approached the West Tower which held the Owlery. What was he supposed to do? He was in trouble no matter what… 

Heero acknowledged that he was a terrorist and therefore deserved punishment. He actually wanted to atone for his crimes if only he could get a fair trial. Yet now, with J's statement, this had become even less possible than before… And he had the other pilots to think about. He owed them that much… and so much more. If he gave himself up, he would endanger them, too. Additionally, every fibre in his body screamed of his training - and he was conditioned to never surrender unless it was necessary to complete the mission. 

Even worse, J had ordered him to come back… Never before had Heero felt more like banging his head against the wall. J had ordered him back. Heero paused, then decided to head towards the roof. J had ordered him back… 

However, Heero knew better than anyone else that J had lost every conviction he once held, the ultimate goals of freedom and peace. All that was left now, was insanity - the dangerous, the intelligent kind. He knew. He had experienced it. And he feared it. Going back might prove more dangerous than giving himself up to the authorities. Not just to him - he wasn't worried for himself, he deserved everything he got, after all - but to society, to the peace, to man kind in the end. 

Unfortunately, all the reasoning didn't alter the fact that Heero was a conditioned soldier. And it was tearing him up… 

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In the hospital wing, things had calmed down. Poppy had managed to drug Quatre into sleep and Dumbledore explained to the anxiously waiting crowd what had happened. 

"It appears, our young friend here is a very special case indeed. His gift of the sight is accompanied by the talent of being a natural legilimens…" 

"A what? Is that dangerous?" Duo cried out immediately. 

"A legilimens is someone who can read into other people's emotions and memories when he looks into their eyes, simply put." Hermione clarified patiently, without sounding too schoolmarmish. 

The newbies among the group were relieved. Wufei, however, identified the problem immediately. 

"But that will drive him mad in the end, if he reacts that way now, with us, what will happen when he's with a crowd? He can't avoid eye contact constantly, can he?" 

"Oh, I don't think that will be a problem." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Usually, legilimency is an acquired ability. But there are methods to control natural legilimency. Actually, this is a nice coincidence, since I happen to know that one of my pupils is in need of training occlumency, the counterpart, if you wish. Isn't that so, Harry?"   
The young Gryffindor wished the ground would open up and swallow him, but the headmaster continued inexorably.   
"I think it would be a good idea if you and Quatre took some private lessons with Professor Snape as soon as he is well enough. It's all a matter of self-control…" 

After some accusing looks from Ron and Hermione in Harry's direction and a few words of clarification for the others' sake, it was agreed by all (although only grudgingly by Harry) that this was the best plan of action. After Poppy's reassurance that Quatre would be allowed to leave in the morning, the group dispersed. 

As Remus Lupin strolled into direction of his room, he replayed his earlier meeting with Heero in his mind. He couldn't pinpoint it, but something had been wrong about the boy. He hadn't been his usual alert to jumpy self. And with his head down and his shoulders hunched, he lacked the imperturbability he generally radiated. Had something happened? Had the others said anything to or about him? He didn't quite understand it. Those kids seemed a nice bunch of teenagers. What was amiss between them and Heero? Well, he thought with his typical quiet resolve, if they thought they could hide it, they would soon find out just how persistent a certain werewolf could be. 

He sighed to himself. And now he was back on his way to Sirius, who had tried all morning to convince him that the enigmatic boy was dangerous and could not be trusted. The animagus had told him about the incident between Heero and Draco Malfoy…   
Well, he had never doubted the strength that lithe body held (though he refused to believe his mate's description of 'a mad glint in his eyes as he was about to crush the Slytherin's windpipe'…). Remus knew the boy was stronger than anyone would give him credit for - he had _ seen _ him train. He had seen the injuries he had sustained and survived. And he was certain Draco had got what he deserved. He didn't think the reticent boy would have instigated the confrontation - and Malfoy was a Slytherin, after all.   
Remus suppressed another sigh. When had things become so complicated… 

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Up on the roof, Heero had sat down behind a chimney, eyes closed. His mind still wouldn't settle. There were angry scratches on both of his arms, reflecting his inner turmoil. 

_ Criminal… dangerous… ** Come back! ** … assassin… guilty… ** This is an order! ** … A threat to society… the Grim… ** Come back! ** _

A jumble of thoughts assaulting him relentlessly. The newspaper reports. His own memories. Future scenarios. Unsettling him, flowing incoherently. Fears and pain he had long repressed came crashing down on him. He tried to take a deep breath. He needed to keep his cool… 

_ Surrender… death sentence… ** Retraining! ** _ ... that's what  friends do… _ murderer… _ obviously don't want any friendship... _ ** Insubordination! ** ...heartless… ** An order!… ** killer machine… _ Are you lost… _ ** An Order!… Order!… ORDER! ** _

No! He wouldn't give in. Heero noted with some detachment that his body had started shivering. He felt the urge to follow his conditioning weigh heavy on him… He wouldn't… He wasn't… No… Heero was rocking himself, arms hugged tightly around his bent knees. He needed an outlet. Or was it punishment? Anything, before he lost control completely, before he lost his independent mind… 

Without him really registering it, his left hand had found the knife hidden in his boot. He felt the cool blade - then release… The tension slowly left him. With a bitter smile he thought what J would have done to him if he found out what he did to his body… The so-called Perfect Soldier allowed the pressure to subside. Normally he was too controlled and thus he never had to turn to such desperate means. Damaging his own body… J would have had a field day… _ Damn him. _

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When the group of Gryffindor students who had been visiting Quatre returned to their common room, Harry, Ron and Hermione were immediately grabbed by the arms and dragged away from the others by the twins. 

"Sorry, guys." Fred called over his shoulder. "Family business." 

Their colonial companions were slightly put off by this, but they had long realised that the twins were just plain weird at times and even their own brother and sister didn't always quite get them. And they had Quatre's welfare on their minds, that came before anything else. 

"What is it?" Hermione wasn't inclined to get infected by the twins' obvious over-eagerness to share some kind of information, as she was unceremoniously dumped onto a sofa in a corner of the room. Crookshanks settled in her lap and she softened the glare she had sent into her abductors' direction. 

"Shh. This is important." Fred whispered conspiratorially. 

"See, we were following our target today…" George tried to start at the very beginning. 

"… also known as Professor Severus Snape…" Fred added helpfully, earning himself an elbow to his side. 

"…and omitting the rather interesting meeting he had with Tonks, we gathered some highly confidential information that you guys just have to know…" 

"Aw, George, you really don't want them to know about what Tonks said?" 

"Fred, could you cut the crap. I'm serious…" 

"No, you're not. You're George…" The others exchanged exasperated looks. They hadn't trapped them here to play out their usual comedy? And that joke had gotten exceedingly old… 

"Ahem…" Harry's clearing his throat brought the twins' attention back to the actual subject. 

"Anyways, we followed Snape up to Dumbledore's office…" 

"…and luckily we had our extendable ears with us. Great invention, by the way, even if I say so myself…" This time the elbow belonged to Hermione. Crookshanks, bothered by this fidgeting, went his own way. 

"As I was saying, we overheard Snape tell Dumbledore about something he learnt from the Death Eaters…" George threw a suspicious look over his shoulder and beckoned them all to come closer.   
"Apparently there is a new spy at Hogwarts. Snape didn't know, however, who that spy is…" The three sixth years looked at him with huge eyes. 

"They discussed this for a while and, well, they seemed to come to the conclusion that the mole might be one of the new students. Most of the staff are not actually new, but returnees, as it were, and the rest apparently has every reason to hate You-know-who…" 

Triumphantly the twins observed their younger brother and friends as they let the information sink in. 

"Shit." Ron summarised the situation quite nicely. 

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. 

Meanwhile a light rain had set in and Heero, still on the roof, enjoyed the feel of the cool raindrops on his skin. Eyes closed, he tilted his face towards the drizzle that washed away the thin lines of blood on his arms and soothed his pain, both inside and outside. He didn't mind getting wet as he waited for his healing to kick in, even though, with the long, wide arms of his school robe, the traces of his war against himself would hardly be noticed. But then - it wasn't as if anyone would miss him while he was up here. 

Slightly annoyed, he realised that the calm his questionable actions had brought him was only short-lived. Already he was beginning to feel the first stirrings of anger inside of him, anger at his loss of control. Part of him wondered whether this irritation was due to his training or simply his own temper.   
He wasn't supposed to feel like this, well, he wasn't supposed to feel at all. But at present he seemed to be in two minds about everything. One half of him was raging how he could go against his training like that. The other half was asking why he didn't take it any further. Right now, both sides were disgusted at his own weakness. No matter how you looked at it, he was a failure… He was failing J and his training. And he was failing his friends and their efforts to make him human. For some reason the latter seemed to depress him more… 

Heero rested his head on his knees and sighed. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. Suddenly he felt a wet furball brush against his legs and looked up. Hermione's ginger cat was staring at him with an inscrutable expression in his eyes, that seemed so strangely human. Heero stretched out a hand to welcome the feline intruder to his solitude. The tom cat started to purr pleasantly as the taciturn boy ruffled his fur. _ At least you aren't bothered by my company, _ he thought with a wry half-smile. 

"Did you come to cheer me up?" The cat looked at him with an interested gaze. 

"You know, I have a difficult decision to make…" The feline just snuggled closer against the boy who was staring into the distance again. 

_ Maybe there isn't a right decision, just the best course of action… _ He wondered when he had become so aimless, irresolute… That wasn't like him at all. He always knew what to do - but now that there was no ultimate goal, there were so many things to consider. The thing to do was probably just laying low.   
_ I could go anywhere, but then - this is probably the place where I would be least expected… And they are on the brink to an open war here. How can I consider deserting them? _   
For the time being he would stay. Where else was he supposed to go? He might even prove himself useful to them. After all, even though he hated war, there was no denying he was a warrior. Fighting was deeply ingrained in him. _ Maybe they'll need someone like me… _

Meanwhile Crookshanks was fed up with the increasing rain. He had only come out here for the boy and who had ever seen a cat enjoy getting wet? And it wasn't healthy for the kid, either. So he decided to take things into his own hands and took a gentle swipe at the boy's knee, his expression even more sour than usual. Funny enough, Heero seemed to get his intention. "Alright, alright. Let's get inside." He mumbled not once doubting that Hermione's pet was able to understand him. 

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. 

At the Gryffindor common room, several students were trying to come to terms with what they had learnt this day. While a certain group of colonial friends was considering strategies to protect Quatre (secretly wondering if they themselves might stumble across a hidden talent), Ginny had joined her brothers and friends. She was equally appalled at the situation they were confronted with. 

"So does that mean we cannot trust our new friends for they might stab us into our backs or what?" Her older brothers and Hermione shrugged, but Harry's brain cells had been very active. 

"You said they were talking about a spy… So, were they explicit that it was one person or not?" 

"Hm." The twins looked at each other. "We gathered it's a single person." 

"So it's quite improbable that it would be one of them…" Harry indicated their friends with a short gesture. "Don't you think? They all know each other well. If it was one of them he or she would be bound to be found out… And there are so many colonials, it could be any of them." 

"I guess you're right." Hermione agreed somewhat relieved. 

"But…" Ron started thoughtfully, breaking off to exchange a meaningful look with his best friend and Harry nodded slowly. 

"No way…" Hermione caught on and wasn't too pleased with their implied reasoning. "You're wrong. You must be wrong. There must be another reason. He's really nice if you care to overlook the stand-offish attitude…" 

"Ahem…" The twins and their sister were confused. "Care to explain what you're all getting at?" Fred asked. 

"Heero." Hermione simply stated as if that said it all, but somehow it did. 

"It's possible… We should be careful around him." Ginny said after a while. 

"Oh, you're all ridiculous…" Hermione jumped up, fuming, and left for her dorm. Despite her vehement reaction, however, the seed of distrust had been planted… 

. 

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. 

Somewhere up in space a highly irritated scientist was tearing up international newspapers. _ Nothing. Nothing at all… _ One would think that after a long war the press would know enough of the different methods and means of espionage to find out what was going on behind the closed doors of the Sanq courthouse… Or that a greedy commissioner would pass information on to the journalists. _ Nothing. _ And his informants all over the colonies and Earth had not yielded the desired clues, either… Hopefully the end of the trial would find a full media coverage and they would then report his orders for his pilot. Well, if all went according to plan, 01 wouldn't have anywhere else to go, anyway.   
J ignored the thought that actually, with all his conditioning, _ his creation _ should have shown up at his premises by now. It was much easier to shift the blame on that good for nothing pimp hiding behind his respectable façade. He never should have entrusted him with his pet, though it had seemed such a good idea at the time. Wizard? He wasn't even able to locate one missing boy… Well, at least he had provided the contact - the contact that put him back into business.  
But he wouldn't be so stupid as to ask for favours if he could achieve the solution to his problem by himself. He wouldn't give anybody any leverage. Yet he did need to get in touch with his business partner about that shipment that hadn't arrived. He couldn't deliver if the other didn't keep his side of the deal. And the supplies he required were hard to get hold of these days… 

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. 

A slender hand knocked softly on a solid wooden door in the staff wing. Whispers and shuffling could be heard inside, before a rumpled-looking Professor Lupin swung the door open to reveal a soaked through student standing on the other side. Taking in the drenched figure, the ashen face and the blank eyes, he instantly bade him to enter.

"What happened to you? Come in, come in. Wait here, I'll get you a towel…" 

Closing the door behind him, as his teacher - and possibly friend - went to his bathroom, Heero couldn't help wondering what had brought him here. He had thought he was fully in control of himself again when he followed Crookshanks inside, but now he couldn't quite recall how he got here. 

When Remus Lupin returned the boy hadn't moved an inch and was still dripping on his floor. He was looking distinctly forlorn, something which tore at the werewolf's heart. He really wanted to take Heero into his arms, instead he settled for handing him a towel and a blanket and offering him some tea, since he knew from personal experience how the young Gryffindor reacted to touch. He simply didn't do human contact. 

"So," Remus said, ushering Heero to the small tattered table. Shoving aside some textbooks, parchment and two used mugs, he conjured up another cup, filled it from his tea kettle and placed it in front of the boy. "What brought you here?" 

"I…" The somewhat gravelly voice trailed off as the boy seemed to notice for the first time the huge black dog lying in the corner. Remus followed Heero's gaze to his four-legged partner who, despite his earlier admonition, glared pointedly at his guest. 

"Oh, that's just Snuffles. He's _ harmless _ ." He looked back at the dog and said with a definite edge in his voice: "Down, boy. Down."   
Sirius in his animagus alter ego obeyed, albeit with a dangerous growl. Remus had to smile inwardly. He felt sorry for his mate being stuck in his animal form even within his own four walls where he thought to be safe. But he had deserved that one. _ Sweet suspicious Padfoot… _

When he turned back to his guest, he saw the questioningly raised eyebrow asking him to elaborate. "He's… Well, he was staying at a friend's in London while you were staying with me…" 

He hoped that was good enough, and indeed Heero's gaze lost its sharp focus. Remus would have been rather vexed had he known that, though the boy did accept his word, he was still trying to put the pieces together in his mind. 

They fell silent, the only sound the - needless - stirring of Heero's spoon as he looked onto the table thoughtfully. Remus waited patiently for him to act - speak or do something, but he was just staring out of the window with that far-off look. They sat like that for a while, until the young teacher cleared his throat. 

"Are you alright, Heero?" he asked cautiously. 

"Hn." The boy didn't even look at him. Remus simply accepted the following silence and sent Sirius a warning glare as he started to growl again. 

Knowing there wouldn't be a conversation anytime soon, he fetched the essays already handed in by his DADA class and started to correct them. At some point Heero moved quietly from the table to the window sill. After a while the werewolf looked up to find the boy curled up in his blanket, leaning his forehead against the window, asleep.   
He smiled at the sight and took the opportunity to scrutinise the young Gryffindor. Heero looked much better, still a bit on the skinny side, but that was nothing the good Hogwarts food wouldn't cure. In his sleep the boy's features finally seemed to relax, bringing out the innate beauty his almost constant scowl often seemed to obscure. Yet, to his dismay the werewolf found a dark shadow still lingering around him and his face was paler than his natural complexion should be. And he would swear there was the faint smell of blood underlying the scent of rain, but he wasn't entirely sure. If only Heero would trust him, talk to him… 

He regretted it, but he had to wake the boy. Darkness was going to fall soon, so it was time to get him back into Gryffindor Tower. Remus called out his name softly and, as was to be expected, the young colonial was alert instantly. Realising the late hour he jumped up immediately, folded up towel and blanket neatly and handed them over to Remus. 

"There's no need for haste," the werewolf said with a friendly smile as Heero made for the door. "Won't you at least tell me why you came?" 

The blue-eyed enigma stopped dead in his tracks, before turning around slowly. 

"I was…" he faltered, doing some quick thinking since he couldn't really explain. "I was wondering if… you could lend me something to read…" 

Now it was Remus' turn to raise a questioning eyebrow. "On what subject? Couldn't you find it in the library?" 

"No," Heero's racing mind struggled shortly to find a satisfying answer. "Muggle literature." 

"Oh," the DADA teacher was surprised, to say the least. Both at the subject and the fact that the boy had actually spoken several words in less than five minutes. "Sure, I don't have a lot, though. Just some of those considered classics. But I can procure some more if you like… Here…" He pointed out a small section on his laden bookshelf. "Take whatever you want." 

Without much hesitation, Heero simply chose the biggest tome he could find which happened to be the complete edition of _ The Lord of the Rings _ . Feeling a little awkward, he returned to the door where once again he turned intending to voice his appreciation, but seeing the knowing look in the other's eyes he couldn't find the words and just nodded his thanks. At that moment Sirius decided he had been a good dog long enough and appeared at the door, barking angrily at the 'ungrateful' and 'untrustworthy' intruder. Remus could only just hold him back. 

"Don't mind him. If you ever… I mean, you know, you're always welcome here, okay?" 

As he closed the door, he thought he could see a half-smile playing on the strange boy's lips. Maybe he _was_ making progress… 

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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

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TBC 

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** AN: ** _ Another question to you, my dear readers. Does someone know a good site where they explain the nature of the different organisations in GW (Romefeller, OZ) and the most important battles in detail? Thanks._

And you know, feedback is always appreciated.

04/16/05 


	14. Silence and the Sound of a Gun

** Hogwarts AC 196 **

** AN:   
** _ Unbelievable but true. Here is the next chapter to Hogwarts Ac196. And to think I once thought to finish this, before the next book is published… I can't imagine people actually waiting for my story, but since there are some very loyal reviewers out there (you know who you are), I think I owe you an apology. I'm really sorry it took so long to update. I started working full-time and then I moved and… You get the drift._

_I won't keep you much longer, so  thank you so much for all these reviews  (we're nearing 100 - I can't believe it) and special thanks to  Elithil, Sarge and Cardcaptor Soldier  for pointing out the sites. Since I've only seen 4 or 5 episodes of the series (and they don't air them anymore, where I live!), that was very helpful, even though I finally decided to keep things rather vague. You'll see what I mean when you continue reading this chapter._

_And to  Elithil: Thanks for pointing that out. I knew there was this story by Yingfa, since I read it somewhere else quite some time ago. I didn't realize the beginnings were that similar, though, until I read it again, after your review. It must have still played on my mind, when I was looking for a way to get the pilots into the situation I wanted them in for the start of my story. So people, go and read Yingfa's story 'Crossover', since it probably inspired me._

_Enough said, on with the story… _

_.  
. _

** Chapter 14: ** Silence and the Sound of a Gun

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Heero did not return to Gryffindor Tower that night. Wondering about voices, teacups and dog eyes, among other things, he suddenly found that his feet had taken him all the way to the hospital wing. He really needed to pull himself together, if he continued to not notice what he was doing. But right now he was fine with the direction he had unconsciously chosen. He had no intention of sleeping tonight - he wouldn't find rest anyway - so he might as well watch over Quatre.

He settled in the window sill nearest to his friend's bed in the infirmary and started to read the book he had borrowed by the pale light of the waning moon. In the wee hours of the morning, when Heero had already speed-read through about two thirds, Quatre's sleep was getting restless. The former Wing pilot closed his book and took a seat at the side of the blonde's bed. When the sleeping boy started to toss his head from side to side, Heero hesitantly took his hand into his own. To his amazement the other immediately calmed down and continued to sleep peacefully until the dawn.

Quatre woke very slowly, his eyelids fluttering. He was astonished, to say the least, to find unfathomable dark blue eyes peering into his own. Heero? Remembering the day before and what he had been told by the nurse, he quickly averted his gaze. What was the silent boy doing here at this time of day? He noticed a callused hand leaving his own, before he was even aware that no foreign images, no emotions had been storming in on him. Turning his head back to face Heero and opening his mouth to remark on this, he only saw the door closing behind the other boy…

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When Harry returned from his morning shower, he found an astonishingly alert Duo inspecting Yuy's bed.

"Hey, Duo. What are you doing?"

"Just checking… Just checking…" the other mumbled.

"And what exactly?"

"You see, I went through the effort of making a perfect apple-pie bed for Yuy here - and now it seems it was all for nothing, nada…"

"You mean he didn't sleep here at all?" Harry tried to hide his worry. There probably were several good reasons for a student not to retire to his dorm at night, but still… Guessing from Ron's expression the redhead was thinking along the same lines as he himself.

"Oh, I'll just leave it like that for tonight. A nice surprise." Duo decided with an edge in his tone.

"And why…?" asked a confused Neville.

"Call it payback." Duo said in a voice that left no room for further questions. He made to leave the dorm.

"We are going to get Quatre for breakfast. See you there, okay?"

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Breakfast and their first class of the day, Arithmancy, were rather unexciting, considering the day before. Many students gave Quatre curious looks, but heated glares from his constant companions made them all back off. His friends just avoided the topic of what happened altogether, and Quatre himself managed by simply not meeting anybody's gaze at all.

When the lesson started, it soon became obvious that Professor Vector's subject was one that required brains - and the right attitude. Additionally, their teacher would not allow them to slack. In short, it was just the thing for Wufei to prove himself a rightful Ravenclaw. Most of the other students, who weren't Ravenclaws, got slightly exasperated - some simply had too many other things on their minds, but generally this class was rather demanding and they were glad to leave it behind and seek out their Muggle Studies classroom. It seemed rather ridiculous for the colonials, who had only now ventured into the wizarding world, to attend this lesson, nevertheless their teacher had required not only their presence, but also that of all the seasoned Hogwarts students of their age group.

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"Hello, everybody." A middle-aged red-haired witch with a friendly freckled face greeted them warmly. "My name is Martha Harris and I'm the new Muggle Studies teacher. Well, that isn't quite correct, actually I was a teacher here until seven years ago when I took a sabbatical leave that lasted quite a bit longer than foreseen." She gave an almost bashful smile.

"I'm a Squib and I was married to a Muggle for longer than I care to remember…" There were a few chuckles. "…so I think I know what I'm talking about. As most of you colonials were brought up in a Muggle environment, I don't think I have to introduce you to the charts normally used to explain the Muggle world to young wizards." Now several of the more experienced Muggle-born students could be heard murmuring their approval.

"I thought we might use this first lesson to get to know each other better, that's why all the older students are here, too. I was thinking of a little group discussion and what better subject than the war and the Gundam Trials. I'm sure there are many diverging opinions which might cause some tension between you."

In Wufei's opinion she looked much too cheerful as she was talking about this.

"So this lesson is meant to get rid of some of the differences. Well, tell me what you think."

There was a short silence before one of the Slytherins raised a hand and, when prompted, declared: "Do we really have to? I mean, it's obvious that this whole war was the colonies' fault…"

Of course the colonial students could not accept such a statement and the 'discussion' was soon in full swing.

"If it hadn't been for the Romefeller Foundation and Earth's imperialistic tendencies there never would have been a war in the first place…"

After a while the voices grew louder and louder as the debating parties turned more and more to trading insults. The lines were not clear, however. There was a rift between pacifists and advocates of the war, between colonials and inhabitants of the Earth, between colonial rebels and colonials siding with OZ, between Earth residents advocating the rebels and those supporting OZ, and so on. In short, the discussion became a rather unpleasant affair.

"Rampaging rebels…"

"Oppressors…"

"Warmongers…"

"Exploiters…"

"Terrorists…"

Just as Hermione began to wonder if the teacher would ever step in, she did and moved over to the Gundam Trials. Naturally, this topic was just as controversial and the views equally diverging. Harry was slightly surprised that the group of his new friends did not participate at all. Quatre in particular looked rather pale, but that probably was just the aftermath of the day before. That Yuy boy seemed to stare fixedly ahead, apparently unaware of his surroundings.

Hermione, having made up her mind on the issue a long time ago, followed the dispute with interest and growing frustration. Most of the arguments were just so unfounded and subjective. It came as no surprise, after the revelations in the wizard news, that most of the anger was taken out on the pilot 01, but some of the students originating from Earth even made comments like "Shoot them all." Several students could relate how they had lost dear ones in a Gundam attack or even how they themselves witnessed incidents of the kind. One or two even claimed to have met a pilot in person - 'tall, imposing' men with 'maniacal zeal in their eyes' and of course they had escaped only barely. Others, naturally mainly colonials, were idolising the Gundam pilots, but they were given a hard time by those, mostly Slytherins, who were glorifying OZ.

That is, until one of the older newbies stood up and said hesitantly, but with a powerful voice that demanded to be heard: "I don't know how many of you have experienced this war pampered and sheltered from afar, but I'm assuming that's most of you. I, however, was forced into service by OZ and I can tell you that, despite their noble front, there was a lot amiss with them. I had to do things I'd rather forget and some of my comrades told me even worse things, like what OZ did to some kids they thought to be Gundam pilots. Believe me, justice is not served if you only put the pilots on trial and ignore the crimes committed by the other parties." He slumped down onto his seat and a short silence followed.

"But they are terrorists…" Fys just wouldn't back down, which was a little surprising to most, since he was a colonial.

Now Hermione cut in furiously, telling what hardly anyone at Hogwarts knew: "I lost my uncle and my cousin in the Gundam attack on the New Edwards base, simply because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. But you know what? I'm sure they would have agreed with the pilots' cause. So I can't blame them for fighting. And in the end, it was the pilots who saved the Earth and made peace possible."

A small Ravenclaw girl near the front rows stood up: "I don't understand you lot. We have peace now. Why are you so hard set on going at each others' throats. I lost my father and my brother in this war and you know what the funny thing is…" She did not sound like it was funny at all, rather like she would cry any moment now. "One fought for OZ and the other for the so-called rebels… We should never forget about the past, we have to learn our lessons. But we just cannot dwell on the past and keep on shifting the blame around, if we want to build a better future."

Silence followed this statement and one could almost make out the wheels turning in some people's heads, before there were agreeing nods and murmurs. Even those hardliners who were not really convinced, could not help but shut up at this simple but insightful remark. To most of the student's relief, their teacher broke up the lesson and some of the newbies noted with satisfaction how naturally their steps took them to the Great Hall for lunch break without getting them lost.

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"Ah, thank god it's Friday," Ron said when they all tucked into their meals, making his new colonial friends realise that their first week of lessons was already over, since the afternoon was free.

"Okay, so what are our plans now?" Duo asked chewing his steak.

"Well, I think we all know what _your_ plans are for tonight," Harry said with a smile. "How about a little game of Quidditch in the meantime?"

After having heard so much about it, the ex-pilots were all for it.

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The tension that had remained after Muggle Studies subsided noticeably during lunch, as the students slipped into weekend mood. The newness of it all was wearing off and the new students already felt quite at home at Hogwarts. This change in the atmosphere allowed many of them to stop being concentrated on themselves and start to notice some of the fine specimen of the other gender. After all, they were just hormone-driven teenagers. A fact which might explain why there were a few more spectators than to be expected, when the 'gang' tried their luck with an improvised Quidditch game. Quatre, for obvious reasons, preferred to remain on the ground with Hermione and Neville, but they had invited Wufei to join in.

The Gryffindor team members (and former members) among them were quite astonished to see how quickly their new friends adapted to the game. They had already proven themselves surprisingly apt during their flying lesson, but Quidditch was a whole different story and still they did extremely well. Harry could already picture Duo, Trowa and Hilde on the team. Flying seemed to come natural to them. Yet the Quidditch veterans couldn't afford to be dumbstruck at their performance, as they were soon to find out that, for all their slender appearance, the newbies knew how to put some hazardous force behind the Bludgers.

Hermione could only smirk inwardly at the cheers of the group of girls on the other side of their provisional field at a spectacular catch by Trowa, acting as keeper for the moment, who snatched the Quaffle away from a hoop. Her new friends were undeniably handsome, but as far as she could see at least two of them were out of the race before it had begun. But who was she to tell.

Unseen by the players and their 'fans', there were others eyeing their game. High on a tree sat a rat with beady eyes. It was indeed none other than Wormtail, the traitor. He wasn't present to execute a devilish plan, however. It was his own curiosity and the wish to serve his master somehow which had made him come to this place (maybe he'd also just looked for a reason to leave his side, with Wormtail you never really knew). The rat formerly known as Peter Pettigrew did not quite understand what was going on in the Dark Lord's mind at the moment. He seemed to be busy on every front but at Hogwarts, where James' offspring was leading a happy life. Oh, he was sure there was a greater plan behind it all, unfortunately nobody but that one colonial wizard seemed to know what was happening. And so Peter was keeping watch. He wouldn't have been as relaxed as he was, had he known that his former friend Padfoot wasn't sitting too far from him, but luckily (for him) he was downwind and couldn't be detected by the animagus' sense of smell.

Sirius in his animagus form watched on with melancholy. How he wished he could join in the fun with his godson. And even more, how he wished James could see his son fly… His dog hearing suddenly allowed him to perceive soft footfalls. There, in the shadows stood that boy. That boy again. What was he doing there? Surprisingly, Padfoot could detect the hunger in the teen's eyes where Sirius and most every other human would have failed to see any emotion at all. However, he did not know how to interpret it correctly, so he believed that Heero was somehow jealous and that put him even more on edge than he was around the boy anyway. That kid was not to be trusted.

In fact, Heero was feeling rather wistful. He would never begrudge his friends their fun. But oh, how he longed to be out there with them, to be able to laugh carefree, just like them. To be one of them - but that seemed to slip farther and farther away from him. If only they would tell him what went on. Quatre's rejection this morning had stung. If the most soft-hearted of them was so unforgiving…  
Heero noticed that Hermione had spotted him and was making her way over. No, he couldn't… It hurt but really - what had he been thinking, allowing that girl to get close before? How utterly foolish of him to think she might want to be his friend - and that he could _ be_ hers. After what he had learnt in Muggle studies, how could she not hate him? Of course, she didn't know yet, but it was not fair on her. And she would despise him, once she learnt the truth. He and he alone was responsible for the death of her family members. Besides, he was too tainted for someone who radiated such a bright light. Her remarks had shown what a pure person she was. She did not deserve to be lied to by such a filthy, disgusting…  
Heero silently retreated, leaving Hermione, who arrived at the spot moments later, to wonder whether she had imagined him standing there.

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When it was time to break their Quidditch game off for dinner, the gang agreed that they had a lot of fun playing. Even Quatre believed he would enjoy it, once he could be sure not to suffer from sudden bouts of the second sight. Harry came to a decision.

"You know, I think you should try out for the team," he said. "We really need someone who's as fast and nimble as you are and who can pack a good punch on those Bludgers. What do you think?"

Duo didn't need to think twice and gave an enthusiastic "Sure!" while Trowa kept his usual quiet composure and simply nodded. They headed back to the castle ignoring the girls who tried to get their attention by complimenting them on their skills.

The twins and Duo wolfed down their dinner, as they still had several things to prepare for their revenge plan on Snape, and soon went their way. The others used a more sedate pace and prepared for a relaxed evening.

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When Duo arrived at his dorm, he was met with a rather pale-faced Heero coming out from the bathroom. They stared at each other for a moment, then, surprisingly, it was Heero who opened his mouth speaking hesitantly.

"I need to talk to you, Duo…"

"Fine, talk." Duo's tone was rather clipped as he looked for a black cap to hide his braid. Heero was slightly put off, Duo really wasn't making things easy for him.

"I wanted to ask…" he began quietly with his eyes to the ground, but Duo did not even see this living picture of remorse, as the twins chose that moment to barge into the room.

"Are you ready Duo? Let's go."

And Duo was swept away in the slipstream of the twins, before Heero could even complete his question. He sighed, at the same time worrying the scabs that were forming on his lower arms. Apparently he was not meant to get his answers…

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While the rest of the student body went to bed after a peaceful evening, Duo and his companions were waiting for the right moment to act. It was times like these that the twins wondered why they had given up the Marauders' Map, but they were pretty sure they could avoid Filch and his damned cat anyway. Soon they abandoned their hiding place (Duo was impressed at how well the twins knew their way around the castle and their skills at wreaking havoc - he was glad they were on his side) and went to 'work their magic' with their new accomplice's help. Snape was in for a surprise…  
When they returned Duo was a little annoyed that he had missed Heero's reaction at his new apple-pie bed, but he was so pleased with himself and what he had accomplished with the Weasleys, that he even forgot the little episode when Heero had tried to talk to him.

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Saturday morning found Hermione Granger resolutely getting out of bed. She was set on dedicating the weekend to two different projects. The first, the easier one or so she thought, was talking to Heero to determine whether the others were right or rather (from her point of view) prove that she was still a good judge of character, even if there had been that short episode with Gilderoy Lockhart. The second endeavour had come to her mind last night while lying in bed and replaying what had occurred in Muggle Studies. The discussion about the trials had made her realise the unfairness of it all even more acutely than before, so she had decided to do something about it. She would have to research some more, but she was sure she could put something similar to her S.P.E.W. project (concerning the house elves) into action. And maybe this time she would really achieve her goal…

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The other Gryffindors by and by came to breakfast and prepared for a stressless day. To Quatre's astonishment he found two owls waiting for him. One was his sister Iria's , the other he did not know. Without hesitation he tore open the envelope of his sister's letter. Iria informed him that Relena had been trying to contact him repeatedly to inform him about the events at the trial. As he read Relena's account of the developments, he felt somewhat guilty. He felt like he had let Heero down somehow and decided he would try to talk to his fellow pilot later. Quatre immediately forgot about this resolution, however, when he read his second letter. It was from Dumbledore who asked him to come to a private lesson for controlling his Legilimency later that morning. Trowa patted his back reassuringly when he told the others.

"You know what," Duo said with his mouth full. "I always wondered how you can communicate by owl between earth and the colonies… I mean how do the owls cross empty space?"

Of course it was Hermione who tried to give a satisfying answer. "You're not the only one there. A lot of people have tried to find out how post owls cross the greatest distances within such a short time, but they couldn't find a real answer. They say it's a kind of Owl Magic that is closely related to Apparating."

"Oh. Well, it's cool. Wish I could do that…"

After breakfast the larger part of the gang decided to make good use of the warm late-August day and go swimming. Harry told them he'd follow later because Professor Lupin had asked him to 'walk his dog'.

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When Harry turned into the corridor leading to Remus' rooms, he almost collided with Heero who carried a stack of books under his arm. The other shot him a look that bordered on a glare and continued his way. Shaking his head, Harry went on and knocked on the door that separated him from his godfather and his mate. When the door opened, he immediately felt the tension in the air and suggested that he could come back later if this wasn't a good time. Remus just gave him a smile and said: "Don't be silly. Sirius is just being stubbornly stupid again."

Sirius glared but had trouble to suppress the chuckle trying to break out. Harry couldn't help but feel comfortable in the company of his father's best friends while enjoying a second breakfast. To him they were almost like the family he never had and he knew he could trust them with anything (considering they had been Marauders, there wasn't much about his Hogwarts life that could shock them). So it was no wonder that he accidentally told them about what the twins had found out about the spy and the conclusions they had come to. Sirius encouraged that train of thoughts while Remus remained curiously silent.

Finally, he stepped in and reminded Harry: "Do you remember your third year? We all thought Sirius was a murderer and all evidence seemed to point at him. I don't know Heero very well, but I don't see any reason to mistrust him yet. I won't tell you what to think, Harry, but please keep an open mind."

Harry did not notice that at the same time he sent his lover a warning look to shut him up, before he would bring up his Malfoy story. And as always it worked. Remus subtly changed the subject and they had an enjoyable morning, before Harry said his goodbye to join his friends. As he walked to the lake he wondered if Remus could be right. They _ had_ misjudged Sirius after all…

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Quatre could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he walked up the stairs to Dumbledore's office. Although he might look delicate for a boy, he usually did not lack courage. He was a Gundam pilot and he did that position justice, but had it not been for his 'little problem' with looking other people into the eyes, he probably would have turned around. Dumbledore might not appear frightening, but he did not enjoy his reputation as the greatest wizard alive for nothing and a private lesson with him seemed more and more scary with every step Quatre took.

"Ah, there you are." Quatre almost jumped when Nearly Headless Nick greeted him. "The Headmaster asked me to tell you the new password to his office." He came closer and whispered into Quatre's ear. The blonde's eyes became large and round and suddenly he did not feel nervous anymore. He stepped up to the gargoyle guarding the entrance and said "Marshmellow Mice".

Dumbledore gave him a friendly welcome and the lesson did not turn out too bad. He was a friendly if confusing wizard after all.

"So, young Quatre. How are you doing? No more Legilimency attacks I hope… Good … good. Honey drop? No, oh well, let's start then."

At first Quatre wasn't quite sure how to take the Headmaster's curious ways, but he was quick to realise never to underestimate the old wizard as time wore on. Not unlike Harry with his Occlumency lessons, Quatre simply had to learn to close his mind off - not that this was all that simple, but he did get the feeling he was getting somewhere and even Professor Dumbledore seemed satisfied with his progress. Actually Dumbledore was even slightly amused with the eagerness Quatre showed. At the end of the lesson Quatre dared to ask the question that had been on his mind since the morning before.

"If there is natural Legilimency, is there also natural Occlumency?"

"Well, yes. There are even some Muggles who are natural occlumens, but it only happens with very strong-minded people. Why do you ask?"

So Quatre told him that he hadn't received any thoughts or emotions from Heero the day before.

"Ah, young Heero. Yes…"

Dumbledore's face showed a faraway expression and Quatre once more wondered whether Dumbledore had lost the thread of their conversation, but he did not have the courage to prod. Soon afterwards he was allowed to leave, but not before Dumbledore told him something he was not very pleased to hear.

"Professor Snape will continue with your lessons on Monday, and tell Harry he will have to take part, too."

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Meanwhile Heero had returned to his quiet spot on the roof. He did not want to impose himself on the others and everywhere else he seemed to risk running into Hermione which he tried to avoid at all costs.  
And there were even a few other girls making advances he did not quite understand, what did they see in him? He had witnessed how they tried to get Duo to notice them. He could understand that. Duo relished the attention and exuded his cheerfulness and charms. Not to speak of his good looks which he shared with Quatre, Trowa and Wufei who simply brushed them off or ignored them so far. But Heero did not know how to deal with it, so he had frightened them off with his trademark glare and fled.

Finally peace and quiet. That did contrast sharply with what he was feeling inside, but he knew he needed to keep himself together, or else he would allow the whole situation to get to him and he wasn't sure if he could make it out of the mess of his thoughts and feelings.  
With a sigh he opened another of those books that seemed to be his main occupation of late. This time he tried to learn all he could about the Dark Arts. After all you needed to know your enemy.

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At the same time Duo was indeed charming the Patil twins who had joined him and his friends. The others only looked on with amusement.

"Where's Hermione actually?" Wufei asked Hilde.

"I think she wanted to come later."

"The best guess is always the library. I wouldn't count on her coming. She often loses track of time when she's busy with one of her projects." Ron enlightened the others about this special trait of the Gryffindor girl, just as Quatre and Harry rejoined the group and the former related his first Legilimency lesson. As to be expected Harry (and with him his friends) was not thrilled to learn about the impending session with Snape.

Soon, however, all concerns were dismissed. The wars, past and present, were forgotten and they all could simply behave like the teenagers they were. They enjoyed the summer day, unaware of the dark clouds gathering on the metaphorical horizon.

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The L2 colony had the dubious pleasure of welcoming the most feared wizard of the time as he visited his most loyal servant among the scattered few colonial wizards.

"Did you get the shipment from the dealer?" a cold voice asked as its owner stormed into what could be called his headquarters in space.

"Yes, my Lord, and I sent it on immediately. It's really a pity you cannot produce this material by magic…" the other voice obviously belonged to someone who was used to power, but acknowledged his inferiority to the other.

"Indeed, it is. But then it wouldn't be as useful, would it?" The owner of the second voice wasn't quite sure how to interpret this remark but did not want to show it, so he changed the subject.

"Did you make progress concerning the Realm of the Waiting, my Lord?"

"Probably. You will have to wait and see."

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Luckily the Dark Lord was preoccupied with his own plans, so he did not notice the small presence in his mind that witnessed this conversation from far away. In the middle of the night Harry shot up in his bed, wiping the sweat from his brow. This had felt different from his other nightmares. What he had seen was less foggy than his latest dreams. It had felt real, like those visions from the year before… Harry felt that this conversation was important somehow, he just couldn't understand what had been about. Realm of the waiting? What the heck? Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to get back to learning Occlumency with Snape…

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The next day seemed to be the complete opposite of the day before. It was raining cats and dogs which confined the students to the inside of the castle. That of course awakened the adventurous spirit of some among them. The former Gundam pilots decided to do some more exploring, while Hilde and Ginny engaged Harry and Ron in another game of wizard chess.

Hermione naturally turned to her favourite resort, the library, after another castle-wide search for a certain mysterious boy had turned out fruitless. She was almost tempted to think that Heero was avoiding her on purpose, but why he would do that was beyond her. Seeing that she didn't make any progress on her first project, she was even more determined to turn the second into a success.

Heero on the other hand took to wandering the castle with atypical aimlessness during the afternoon, after he was sure Hermione had given up trying to find him in favour of the library. Duo had gifted him with another surprise last night. This time it wasn't an apple-pie bed, but completely undone sheets. Heero in his confused state was almost glad to see that Duo still remembered he existed, even if it was just to torment him with silly pranks. Uncharacteristically unaware of his surroundings, the Prussian-eyed boy did not realise that he was passing the girls' restroom closest to the library, so it came as a surprise to hear Hermione call out his name. He turned to her.

"I've been looking for you all day. Are you going back to Gryffindor Tower? I'll accompany you." For some reason she seemed overjoyed to see him, so he just "hn'ed".

They had not gotten further than a few meters, however, when two silhouettes stepped out of a shadowy corner.

"What do we have here…" came Noemi Falger's shrill voice as she and her boyfriend closed in on the pair of Gryffindors.

"Just what we've been looking for…"

Something in the Slytherin boy's voice made Heero flash back. _ A voice: "You're just what I've been looking for…" And hands…_ Heero willed the memory away.

"Gryffindor garbage." Fys sounded threatening and it definitely worked on Hermione. She took an insecure step back, so Heero decided to get her out of the situation, before things could get out of hand.

Unusually wordy he said to her: "Why don't you go ahead, while I sort this out."

She looked at him hesitantly, not wanting to leave him to fend for himself, but a move of his head and a step closer by Noemi convinced her to hurry away. Although the corridor was now deserted, another pair of eyes watched the scene with curiosity from around the corner.

"What a gentleman you are," Fys mocked the blue-eyed enigma.

"What do you want?" a smarter person than the two in front of Heero would have recognised the dangerous tone in the Wing pilot's voice as he drew his wand. Yet they did outnumber him and he had no experience with wizard duels. It took a simple _Expelliarmus_ to disarm him and suddenly he found himself "_stupefied_" on the ground, unable to move for the moment. The Slytherin girl used the opportunity to kick him in the side as she picked up his wand (which Fys had not managed to catch).

"That was a foolish thing to do," Fys continued. "We were willing to play this nicely and what do you do?" he shook his head and gave his girlfriend a sign. She nodded and stepped closer again, hissing: "You brought this onto yourself. Can't have you threatening us, can we?"

Still affected by the hex, Heero could only watch helplessly as the smiling Slytherin girl stepped with her heel down on his right hand. There was a sickening sound of crushing bones.

At this moment the hidden onlooker couldn't hold back any longer. He might mistrust the boy, but this was too much. This was unnecessarily cruel and in the end Gryffindors stuck together. Padfoot lunged forward and barked furiously at the Slytherin pair, revealing his sharp teeth.

Heero sucked in a breath, he hadn't seen that coming. He suppressed any sound as he was used to do and drew on the pain to shake off the magical paralysis. He used the diversion the dog provided to get to his feet. His right hand was useless now, but he couldn't be deterred by such minor details and he still had the use of his other hand. He reacted quickly as he saw the pair drawing their wands on the dog. He couldn't allow that.

"Fuck off you mangy dog…"

Suddenly the sound of a gun being cocked rang through the deserted corridor. The scene seemed to freeze and the girl's eyes widened in disbelief. "How… But I…"

The element of surprise was definitely on Heero's side, they had counted him out too soon. Fys gulped hard as cold steel touched his temple and a low icy voice said: "Fuck off yourself."

Understandably, at that moment there was nothing the two wanted to do more, but they were transfixed to the spot.

"Move!" Heero said a little more forcefully and after another moments hesitation Falger and Fys ran off faster than they'd ever done in their lives.

Heero sighed, then his eyes fell on the dog staring at him. Once more he wondered about the all too human expression of this particular canine. "You too." He said in a clipped tone that left no room for argument.

Padfoot complied gladly. That kid with his gun was easily one of the most frightening sights he had ever seen. And he had seen a lot. He knew the kid had been within his right, but it freaked him out. The boy couldn't just run around the school with a gun. WITH A FUCKING GUN!

When Hermione arrived at the scene with Professor Lupin in tow, there was no trace of what had transpired. Her teacher tried to reassure her by saying this could only mean that nothing too bad had happened, but they both found the situation rather disconcerting.

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Meanwhile Heero stormed toward Gryffindor Tower cradling his hand to his chest. Kuso, several of the small bones in his hand were broken. And how was he supposed to explain this to the school nurse? He would have to treat himself once again. He probably deserved this for letting his guard down like that.

The students in the common room never knew what hit them, when Heero swept through like a tornado and up to his dorm. The fire, that had been lit for the very first time this school year, flared up in the fireplace, a door banged close and they were all left to wonder what exactly just happened.

Heero himself slumped down onto his bed. With practised movements and the help of his teeth, he tore a white shirt into strips and then started to set his own bones, gritting his teeth. Having bandaged his hand and wrist tightly, using a makeshift splint, Heero fell into an exhausted sleep right on top of his bed, completely ignoring the newest surprise Duo had concocted for him.

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TBC

_** AN: ** __ I don't know when I will be able to update next. But never you fear snickers I will finish this, even if it takes longer than for J.K. Rowling to finish the whole series. This is AU anyway, so it shouldn't be too hard to ignore the new book(s), right? Oh, by the way, should I change the title? For I'm sure by now that things will reach into AC197…_

___Anyways, thanks for reading. And tell me what you think. I have to admit, it probably won't make me update sooner (though it might), but I'd be glad to hear from you. _

_07/11/05 _


	15. Rifts

** Hogwarts AC 196 **

** AN:   
** _ Thank you so much to all of you lovely people who left those nice reviews. You actually passed the 100 mark by far - incredible!_

_Sorry, this chapter is so short. When I started writing, I realized this part belongs more with the last chapter than the next, so, after another of those great impatient reviews ;-), I decided to put it out as stand-alone chapter. Hope you enjoy it anyway._

_Some people asked when the other pilots are going to be at least on talking terms with Heero again. Well... shuffling of papers ...um... authoress looks through her notes again ... Ok, enough of that, I can assure you they will return to being friends, but there's still quite a way left to go. (The pain won't stop anytime soon, Cardcaptor Soldier - and that did make sense to me...)  
I don't intend to portray the others as bad guys or anything, they just can't imagine that the Perfect Soldier could have been hindered by anything but death if he wanted to contact them... And the circumstances and their different personalities keep them apart for now._

_As to whether this is 1x2 - I love the pairing (it's probably my favorite in the GW fandom), but originally I had other plans and now I'm even beginning to think that Heero isn't going to be ready for a relationship, he's just too scarred emotionally. Tell me what you think and I'll consider changing the plot (it's not like I'm not doing that all the time...)._

_And finally, before this AN gets longer than the chapter, a virtual hug goes to  Omnicat , not because you were right, but because you were the first to dare a guess (I didn't mean it as real contest, but still) and it was very close to the truth. Ik ben dus geen Nederlandse en woon ook niet in Nederland of Belgie, maar ja, the family ties you suggested are actually with the Netherlands and not with Spain (though I did study Spanish). So it was a good guess - net als de rest. Ik was in het begin inderdaad van plan die twee samen te brengen, maar nur denk ik dat het toch gewoon bij vriendschap blijft. Ik hoop die vraagtekens in jouw hoofd zijn nu uit de weg. Groetjes naar Nederland. _

_Here's chapter 15... _

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** Chapter 15: ** Rifts

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Daniel Fys and his girlfriend hurried towards the Slytherin dungeon as fast as they could, only taking a rest to catch their breath when they had almost reached their common room.

"Not a word of this…" The wannabe challenger of Draco Malfoy wheezed. "Can't afford such a failure to be known…"

"Who could expect such a wimpy kid to carry a gun?" Noemi still had not recovered from the shock.

Unlike their opponent within their own house, these two colonials, though maybe cruel and calculating enough to try anything to reach their goals, lacked the intelligence to recognise strength inside an adversary and did not learn from their mistakes…

"There will be other opportunities… We'll just have to be better prepared." Fys decided upon which they entered their common room.

They pretended nothing had happened. Unfortunately for them, however, some Slytherins were more observant than others and Draco immediately caught their slightly breathless entrance and their efforts to hide something. He decided not to confront them just yet, nevertheless, he wouldn't let them too far from his sights…

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Contrary to the two Slytherins, Sirius was very willing to share his story. He actually couldn't wait to spill it to Remus. Things were going too far. A kid with a gun at Hogwarts! Who would ever have thought of that… And the worst part? Harry shared his dorm with the boy in question. Remus was just too trusting…  
However, no-one could say that Remus wasn't perceptive and the way Sirius stormed into their rooms was quite a give-away, so the werewolf instantly eyed his mate suspiciously, with a look that read as clearly as if the words had been spoken: "What _ now_ again".

The past weeks might have been hard on Sirius, but they had taken their toll on the DADA teacher too and his patience in the face of his lover's instability was wearing thin. Therefore he wasn't really in the mood to hear Sirius rant against Heero and the Animagus, being too upset, didn't take the time to find the right words.  
As soon as he uttered the name Yuy, Sirius found himself faced with a very angry werewolf suggesting he better take a walk and not come back until he was acting more sensibly again… Considering the consequences of aggravating his usually so calm and collected lover even more - and pretty irritated by the situation himself - Sirius decided to do just that and stormed out the way he came in, never bothering to change back into his Animagus form.

He didn't get too far, though, before he ran into someone he was very pleased to see - and one he wouldn't mind never ever seeing again. His cousin Tonks was standing in the corridor obviously discussing something with a slightly flustered Snape.

"I swear I have nothing to do with that, Severus." Tonks sounded slightly exasperated as she faced the Potions master. "Though I have to admire the style of those who did it." she added as an afterthought, grinning impishly.

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Meanwhile Hermione had returned to the Gryffindor common room and related to the four friends involved in a small wizard chess tournament what had occurred. Hilde noted the worry in her eyes and laughed good-naturedly.

"Hermione, don't look like that. Heero's anything but delicate flower. As a matter of fact he passed through here a short while ago…"

Harry and Ron exchanged a look - so it had been Heero who had caused the slight tumult… They had been so caught up in their game, they hadn't realised that... but they did note the familiarity with which Hilde referred to the other boy. Her reassuring words were enough to calm Hermione and the girl went to bed early.

By and by all the students retired, as did the former pilots who came back from another exploration with more insights about Hogwarts castle. Duo was slightly astonished to see Heero deeply asleep on his bed and he wondered fleetingly why he was not reacting in the slightest to the entrance of his dorm mates, but that moment passed quickly and he did not really spare him a second glance as he, being the great story-teller, related to Ron once again what exactly he and the twins had done to get back at Snape.

"It will be quite a feat to get in at all. We also sealed the windows, but should he get in… He'll find the whole classroom painted pink and the cauldrons and glass jars will be walking on two feet, waving little flags with hearts and chanting 'I will follow Snape, follow him wherever he may go…' and they will follow him wherever he may go…"

Harry on the other side couldn't stop his thoughts from whirling in his mind. Considering what Hermione had told them, those neo-Slytherins had been waiting explicitly for her and Heero and since they had let her get away so easily they must have been trying to get the boy. What if they had gotten what they wanted? And what could that have been?

As the lights went out in Gryffindor Tower, nobody had noticed that one of their dorm mates had a tightly bandaged hand hidden in a long sleeve. And nobody could guess from the controlled facade the boy managed to keep up even in his sleep that his mind was actually caught in a very dark place...

_ He was cold, blindfolded and his wrists were stuck in what felt like Gundamium cuffs. Doing a mental check-up on himself he came to the conclusion that he couldn't feel half of his body - and the other half was aching. He didn't know how long he had been out of it, but he felt that he wasn't at J's lab anymore. Nevertheless, that did not bode well. Apart from his own evaluation of the situation just now, he dimly remembered the mad scientist's threat… He heard footsteps approaching, keys rattling… Somebody entered wherever he was, leather soles making clicking sounds on the hard floor. He half heard, half sensed that person crouching down next to him, scrutinising him…_

_"Soo,…" a nasal male voice drawled out. "I'm impressed. Two days ago you looked half-dead and now your wounds look almost completely healed. Doctor J promised me as much, but I had my doubts, I must say."_

_Heero never made to answer, but had to fight hard to suppress shudder as he felt a hand follow the line of his jaw._

_"Exquisite… You know… You're just what I've been looking for… My clients will be pleased, but first…"_

_The mouth uttering these words was now breathing into his ears. And then hands started to roam where they had no right to be… and then… there was only wave after wave of pain…_

Heero opened his eyes slowly, adjusting himself back to reality. His hand was throbbing, as was his head. He cowered near the headboard, drawing the blanket around his shoulder as he was staring into the dark and listening to the regular breaths of his dorm mates, somewhat envious of their unperturbed rest.  
Then, suddenly, he felt it beneath his feet. His bed underneath the blanket was filled with sand. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he very slowly got up. He didn't bother to clean the bed, but dragged his blanket to the window sill where he sat down, almost curled up into a ball and leaning his burning forehead against the cool window pane. If Duo could have seen the Wing pilot's desolate eyes at this moment, he would have stopped anything, rushed over and crushed him in a consoling hug.  
Duo, however, was fast asleep, and Heero wasn't going to let him see his weakness…

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While the hidden schism between the two Gryffindor boys was growing secretly, the old rift between two old enemies erupted openly.

"Black!" Snape snarled as he caught sight of the Animagus' human form.

"Sirius," Nymphadora exclaimed. "What do you think you are doing, walking around like this?"

The so adressed did not bother to answer, glaring at Snape instead who returned it in equal measure. Tonks looked from one to the other and threw up her hands in defeat.

"Ok, boys. Be like that. You just keep doing whatever you're doing. I'll go to bed." Halfway down the corridor she remarked over her shoulder: "Don't kill one another, otherwise I'll have to tell Dumbledore and you know how I hate ratting on someone."

The 'boys' ignored her in favour of their old feud.

"Running from your lover, are you?" Snape sneered, but found himself pressed against the wall, the seething animagus' hands on his thoat.

"Jealousy is a bitch…" Snape managed to grit through his teeth and to his surprise, after a second or two, the other's grip loosened. And it seemed Sirius deflated. The Potions master couldn't guess how his thoughtless words had hit home, as he had no idea how things stood between the two former Gryffindor students. But his words did make Sirius think. Yes, he probably was overprotective and even more possessive at the moment. His recurrent dreams just made it too clear how easily he could lose the last of the other Marauders who was worthy of the title. So in a moment of unusual remorse Sirius Black did something he had only ever done at a teacher's insistence.  
He apologised to Severus Snape. To a bystander this would have had a hilarious effect. Snape was actually so stunned to hear an apology coming out of the other's mouth that he remained speechless at first, and then mumbled an acceptance and apologised for riling him. The two arch enemies grinned at each other sheepishly (yes, even Severus Snape was capable of slightly sour looking grin).

On this exceptional evening of firsts, Sirius had an idea and decided to try his luck with another premiere. If he was honest, he had to admit that Snape_ had _ saved Harry's life before, so maybe he could be of assistance now. He told the head of the Slytherin house of his suspicions against that Yuy boy, and Snape admitted there was something about the boy that set him apart from the others, though he could not quite identify what it was.  
In an unusual conspiratorial mood the most unlikely happened and the two arch enemies, forming a fragile alliance, worked out a plan…

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_TBC _

_** AN: ** __ That's it for now, but I do promise to update within 2005 ;-)._

___Thanks for reading. _

_08/21/05 _


	16. Before the storm

** Hogwarts AC 196 **

** AN:   
** _ Today it's been exactly one year and one week since I started publishing this story - I really thought I'd be done by now… Anyways, thanks to all you lovely reviewers who stayed with me all this time and to those who discovered this story recently and let me know through their responses._

_What is this rumour about bans on reviewer responses? Well, then I'll just have to note down for general information that, no, Marimeia most probably won't feature in here. The remark about updating within 2005 was just a reference to a review and not meant to be taken too seriously.  
I can't help people who don't like a certain pairing - I can assure you all that this story isn't about steamy situations between the couples, but if m/m relationships in general make you sick, just stop reading. Though you should reconsider your tolerance levels, if I may say so._

_Oh, and chapeau to Omnikat, you know why (was that a reviewer response?)_

_On to chapter 16... _

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** Chapter 16: ** Before the storm

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After the weekend, life at Hogwarts began to fall into a rhythm. The newbies, apart from some slightly disoriented ones, hardly got lost anymore and even the most sceptical Muggle-borns had accustomed themselves to the idea of magic. The days passed mostly uneventful. The pilots (and Hilde) secretely completed their exploration of the school, their skills and instincts allowing them to find a lot of the secret passages others had taken years (and in some cases the help of the Marauder's map) to discover. They deepened their friendship with those students they had found worthy of it - and vice-versa. Nevertheless, some secrets of course remained well-kept on both sides. No one expected this period was just the calm before the storm…

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On Monday, they suffered through History of Magic again, though this time in plenary assembly of the older students. Apparently Professor Binns thought it wouldn't be to the veteran students' disadvantage to learn more about their history and just as apparently the majority of the students thought they could do with a little more sleep, as Wufei observed in a moment of wavering concentration. The way Hermione paid attention seemed to suggest that Pyromagi, obviously some species of wizards that could produce fire with wandless magic, were a topic even the veteran students had not yet covered, though that did not make the lesson any more interesting to anyone. As Binns droned on about how some Pyromagus centuries ago had associated with the dark forces as his kind were prone to do, even Wufei allowed his thoughts to wander.

Although he would never admit it, at first he had felt a little alone, with all his friends in Gryffindor house, but the other pilots never excluded him and he was readily accepted into the Ravenclaw crowd. Not only was he one of the brightest students, his first try at Quidditch had made it clear that he would be a valuable asset to the Ravenclaw team. Although his house was more renowned for studiousness they appreciated talent in sports there like anywhere else.  
He thought himself lucky to have been able to enter this new world, since he probably would have bored himself to death, had he been obliged to attend a 'normal' school. At Hogwarts, however, he had to adopt a whole new frame of mind and his intellect was tested, just the way he liked it. His fellow Ravenclaws were very pleasant and there was more than one he would consider to qualify as a friend, giving it a little time.

It was only when he observed Quatre and Trowa together that he felt he missed out on something, but it took him a while to understand what it was. In his controlled way a very passionate person, Wufei wasn't one to give his heart easily, which soon became obvious to all those who had their eyes on him. It took more than brains and/or a pretty face to reach the place in his heart right next to the one whose shadow had accompanied him for a long time.

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Again, like the week before, Transfiguration raised everybody's spirits and Duo could show off his exceptional talent. Trowa was slightly amused at the triumphant looks Duo shot over to Heero who, quite obviously to the uni-banged observer, held back for some reason. As Trowa looked a little more closely he realised that the Wing pilot seemed to be favouring his right hand which he kept inside the long sleeve of his robe, but the tallest among the pilots thought nothing of it. He had never been able to tell whether the other boy was originally right- or left-handed, as he tended to use both. Trowa did not follow that thought as he saw the sunlight streaming through the window light up a certain blond head sitting in front of him. He couldn't help but wonder how everything about Quatre was capable of capturing his attention…

Quatre and Trowa were probably the only ones among their circle of friends who took their time in realising just how much attraction there was between them. Sharing a dorm and all of their classes, they spent a lot of time together anyway, but very often the others would stumble on them in their free time, completely absorbed in their own world. While Duo and the twins had placed their bets on when they would become an official couple, they were still discreet enough, that the other students who did not know them well never caught on. This allowed them to slip, almost unwittingly, into a deeper relationship without having to face the hostility of the not so tolerant wizard world. On the downside, Quatre was too busy with matters of his own heart (not to forget his legilimency problem) to notice other developments to which his empathy would normally alert him.

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On Monday afternoon, Harry and Quatre, contrary to all expectations, experienced a rather enjoyable extracurricular lesson with Snape which was even more extraordinary given the fact that only this morning the announcement had been made that the Potions classes would be relocated into another part of the dungeon for an as yet to be determined duration. The reasons for this move had remained unexplained, but of course rumours were flying high that the twins and one of the newbies were somehow responsible. For once they had truly beaten the much hated professor - although it was certainly only a matter of time until he would break through to his classroom and office (only to experience another unpleasant surprise).

Despite everything Snape remained uncharacteristically agreeable throughout what Harry had expected to be quite an ordeal. Snape appeared almost cheerful, a completely unknown concept and usually a worrisome idea, but for the time being neither student would complain. They appreciated the effort. Instead of probing into Harry's mind again himself, the Potions master proved atypically sensitive and let the two of them put their (underdeveloped) skills against each other, giving them only the necessary assistance. This method worked surprisingly well, as Harry felt not quite as uncomfortable with Quatre challenging him and he was trained enough to make sure he wouldn't send the blonde colonial into emotional overload. Quatre managed to get more control over his talent and probed into Harry's guarded mind rather gently.

Both Harry and Quatre learned a lot during that session in the ways of controlling their own minds - and about the other. If Harry hadn't been sure he could trust the blonde before, he was now. Quatre on the other hand realised through the glimpses of memories and emotions what the other had been through - and what a heavy burden he still carried. While these two were having an unexpectedly pleasant time with Snape, Heero was having a surprisingly unpleasant talk with Remus Lupin.

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Remus could never stay mad at his mate for long, so in the end he had given in and listened to Sirius' story. It was a slightly disturbing revelation to himself that he could easily imagine Heero drawing a gun. Notwithstanding, he would not believe that the kid was a danger to Harry, instead he was rather worried about Heero's well-being. Nevertheless, he kept looking all day for an opportunity to speak to the boy in question. So when he came across him sitting under a tree in the grounds of Hogwarts, he wouldn't let the chance pass to have some serious words with the living enigma, no matter how all alone he looked at that moment, he had to fulfil a teacher's duty.

Heero had once again escaped the hustle and bustle inside the castle to get some fresh air and clear his head. He didn't feel that feverish or incapacitated by his broken hand anymore, but still not quite like his usual healthy self. In accordance with the somewhat nerdy image some of his fellow students already seemed to attribute to him, the chocolate-haired boy had brought along something to read, but was actually deep in thoughts when…

"Mind if I join you?" Remus Lupin asked in his friendly voice and took the total lack of a verbal answer as an invitation. For a while they just sat in what bordered on companionable silence, before the teacher dared to broach the subject that was on his mind. Unable to predict the boy's reaction to any possible approach, he decided to be blunt.

"Heero… I was told you pointed a gun at two students…"

The boy tensed, he had not expected _ that_. The thoughts started racing through his brain. How could Lupin know…? The Slytherins wouldn't have told anyone, he was pretty sure of that… and he was fairly certain there had been no one else to witness the situation. For some reason, the image of the large black dog came before his inner eye…

Remus sighed. He really did not know how to handle this.

"Heero, _ do_ you have a gun?"

If the situation wasn't such a serious one, the werewolf could have laughed at the defiant position the other took on, crossing his arms before his chest and giving one very short nod, without looking at him. It was one of the few reactions he had ever received from the boy that really showed that he was, well, just an average teen.

"I must ask you to hand it over to me. We cannot allow that in school."

"No." The response sounded final.

"Heero…" Remus almost groaned exasperatedly.

To his own astonishment Heero found himself blurting out (well, his monotone version of blurting): "I have more than one, anyway."

This time Remus couldn't help smiling and inside a little voice (sounding suspiciously like Sirius) was whooping with joy. The boy could have ignored his request, he could have lied, he could have just handed over the gun, but no, he was honest with him…  
Still, he knew he wouldn't be able to get Heero to agree to anything he did not want, so he had to at least try another strategy.

"Promise me, you won't use it inside the school grounds anymore."

Heero simply looked stubbornly the other way. Remus should have expected that, this conversation seemed symptomatic for how messed up this boy's life was, but then - who was to tell how many of the other students were 'war children' and brought along weapons.

"Then at least promise me you won't use it unnecessarily…" This condition found Heero's approval and he nodded: "Fine."

Remus, for reasons he could not explain, was sure that the boy would not break his word.

"Good. But now, I think," he grabbed the boy's arm, knowing full well the risk he was running. "We should let Poppy have a look at that hand of yours. How you can sit there like nothing's wrong really is beyond me."

Heero, too stunned at the sudden change, allowed the werewolf to drag him away without much resistance. No need to say that the school nurse was none too pleased to see him again so soon…

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While several of their friends, old and new, were occupied during the free part of the afternoon, Hilde, Duo, Trowa and Wufei once more honed their skills on the broom in a training match of Quidditch with all four of the Weasleys. Hilde was relentless on Ron in his position as keeper, which worried Duo at first, but then he noted a pattern and that made him give the tomboyish girl as many deadly passes as he could.

Ron might not be as intelligent as Hermione, not as magically talented or as awesome a flyer as Harry and not as devious and funny as the twins, but he was a nice guy and apparently there was something about him that drew Hilde to him. And if Duo wasn't mistaken, the attraction was mutual. At the end of the game, Ron was completely exhausted, but he had demonstrated just why he had become keeper on the Gryffindor team and Hilde was duly. The two of them stumbled towards Gryffindor tower leaning on one another. Duo followed them with a twinkle in his eyes. "First part of the mission accomplished."

On the whole, Duo was having the time of his life. A street rat from L2 and certainly not lacking in intelligence, he had often dreamt of being able to get a good education, but this was so much more (never in his dreams would he have thought of a magic school). And now that he had practically been promised a spot on the Quidditch team, things looked even better. He already formed a close bond with the Weasley twins which only helped him to gain popularity - with the exception of the Slytherins, of course. His cheerful, easy-going nature and his good looks soon assured him of a place among the most eligible guys in the school.

It was only the second week, but already he had found himself a girlfriend. His choice was surprising to many. Sarah Anderson was not one of those flashy beauties who sought out Duo's company. She was an intelligent, unobtrusively pretty Gryffindor girl with a rather sporty than curvy figure. Most of all, however, it was probably her sparkling dark blue eyes speaking of her sense of humour which attracted Duo to her. What set her apart from most of Duo's suitors was that she never even tried to win him over and she did not expect too much from him either. She understood that he was not really interested in a serious relationship - he never pretended to want more than a good time - and was ready to enjoy it while it lasted. This laid-back attitude probably accounted for the fact that she would be able to claim being the longest-lasting partner in a long row of girl-friends - and boyfriends - that was to follow.

Duo's happiness came at a price he was not aware of. While Duo was living the life, he did something he had once sworn never to do. For the first time in a very long while he gave up on something that was important to him. He could not overcome the hurt inside and forgive Heero just like that, so when his efforts to provoke a reaction did not pay off and he found distraction elsewhere, he unconsciously gave up on his friendship with Heero.

After a while his pranks on Heero's bed were only the half-hearted try to get a reaction from the other boy and soon became nothing more than a ritual, the original purpose almost forgotten. Although Duo probably was the one person who ever got as close as you could get to the so-called Perfect Soldier, his anger and disappointment rendered him unable to see that he was using the wrong means to make Heero spill. His method might have worked on himself, but it only served to distance Heero even more. As Duo was drifting towards the centre of Hogwarts life, he and the other pilots never noticed that they were slowly pushing Heero further and further away.

It was a vicious circle and it seemed the Wing pilot would be taking the fall. He had tried to break out by reaching out to Duo, but after that one attempt had failed, he felt it was hopeless and took to secluding himself. Yet, the more he retreated, the less the other pilots took notice of him and none of the other students was able to read the feelings of hurt and betrayal that were concealed behind his cold blue eyes. This distance helped him to hide his secret ways of acquiring knowledge, of training as it had helped to hide his broken hand. But nothing filled the void inside. Unfortunately none of his fellow students could guess the warring emotions behind the impassive façade, the inner battle that was about to be lost…

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Midweek Sirius was called to Dumbledore. He feared another reproach from the old man, but instead he was told that, apparently, it could now be assumed as certain that the Death Eaters had no idea he was back from the dead, thus making his Animagus form a valuable disguise in their own intelligence service again. These news brightened Sirius mood considerably. Finally, he was no longer cooped up inside, finally, he could be useful again. So at the moment, he felt more alive than he had in a long time, ever since they had put him in Azkaban to be exact. Things were looking up, now that he was no longer reduced to the role of a bystander.

Had Sirius bothered to be a little more introspective at that moment, he might have realised that he was behaving like his cocky teenage self, with all the disadvantages of being rash, but he had been confined too long, bringing everyone down. At that moment he wasn't considering how worried Remus would be when he'd take up his spy activities the next day. All thoughts of the curse from behind the veil were far away.

Maybe Dumbledore had become suspicious of what he was doing with his overload of excess free time and wanted him out of the way, but right now he couldn't care less. He hadn't even listened to the old man's suspicions that Voldemort was up to something, that it had been too quiet for too long. Sirius might still have to disguise himself, yet freedom was beckoning and it felt mighty good.

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Snape's good mood had lessened significantly by Tuesday and it only got worse. He had actually enjoyed the lessons with the two boys on the day before. It was a change to see how the kids worked when they were not all tense around him. He even had to admit - though only to himself - that both of them had quite a magical talent. Yet after another fruitless try to get into his office that evening and another one of those senseless quarrels with that Tonks woman who seemed to be keen on becoming the bane of his existence, his patience was tending towards zero, and fast.

The older group of newbies and with them once more the Gryffindor and Slytherin sixth years had chosen this of all days to act completely clueless. But worst of all, try as he might, he found he could not prod into that damned blue-eyed boy's mind as he and Sirius had planned. No matter how hard he tried, he seemed to hit against a wall. And the look in the kid's eyes chilled him to the bones. It almost seemed he knew exactly what Snape was trying to do, but remained entirely unaffected - or worse... That simply wasn't natural. Fear came automatically when Severus Snape pressed someone hard, but now he received not a single emotion to feed on. No lever he could use. Never had his legilimency failed so completely like it did with that colonial.

Adding to that, the smug expression of that irritating Maxwell wasn't helping any. It only served to remind him of another smug face he would certainly see if he had to report his non-existent findings. Suffice to say everyone, including the teacher, was glad to leave that class behind.

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Tonks and Lupin, however, had a surprise for them in store that made up for their suffering in Potions. It might have been a bit early in their magical training, but then you had to use the chance of practical training whenever a Boggart was foolish enough to make its presence at Hogwarts known to the DADA teachers.  
Harry, Ron and Hermione felt themselves reminded of their third year. Harry wondered whether Lupin would allow him to have a go this time, but was disappointed when only the newbies were supposed to try their skills, so the veteran students could sit back and enjoy the entertainment. Some results were really exhilarating, others reflected the harsh backgrounds of the students' past. Secretly, Harry was curious what his friends' worst nightmares would be, but immediately felt bad for this almost voyeuristic notion.

The newbies were enjoying themselves like one does when watching an overdone horror B-movie. Shrieks mixed with laughter and the atmosphere resembled a game of tag with altered rules. There were snakes turning into ribbons and guns 'firing' signs with 'Bang!' written over them.

When it was Duo's turn, there suddenly was a huge burning cross standing in the middle of the room, with a long list of names on it, but no-one really bothered to get close enough to the flames to read them. The dark colours of the scene changed into psychedelic and the flames turned into fireworks. Heero, at that moment, was musing how the hell he was supposed to identify his greatest fear (not to speak of finding a way to ridicule it) when he was not supposed to have any, otherwise he might have noticed his own name listed on the fiery cross…

The devious dark creature was getting closer and closer to the Wing pilot as it was Quatre's turn to take on the Boggart next. It assumed the form of a miniature Gundam that had taken a fatal blow. Luckily, there was no-one present, apart from the pilots themselves, who could have identified it as not just any Gundam. It was actually a blend of Heavyarms, Shenlong, Deathscythe and Wing that seemed to be toppling towards the ground, but just before it could crash down, the wings straightened out and the body of the mecha transformed into that of a dove.

Now Heero would have had to face what unknowingly scared him most, if it hadn't been for Remus Lupin stepping in and finishing off the dark creature. There were numerous "Aw's " from those people who hadn't got their chance, but Heero was secretly relieved that his fears were not dragged out into the open. Hardly anyone realised that the teacher had taken Heero out of the game on purpose, but Harry recognised the signs. It made him wonder… What did his godfather's mate know about the boy to not want his worst fear materialised in the classroom…

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Hermione, too busy reading up on the Gundam Trials, had not noticed the repetition of Lupin's behaviour from their third year, yet her thoughts kept returning to the boy who seemed so determined to shut everyone out.  
Throughout the week, it was only Hermione's persistence which allowed her to get somewhat closer to Heero. Physically, that is. The Gryffindor girl was quite puzzled by his behaviour as he seemed to have the ability to vanish into thin air, whenever she thought she had spotted him somewhere. She was sure he was avoiding her, though she did not know why. Was he mad at her for abandoning him with those Slytherins? But he had insisted, hadn't he?

Well, nothing could deter her, once she had her mind set to something, and so she managed what many OZ officers would have liked to achieve during the war - she wore down his resolve. Although possibly, Heero, struggling with his inner demons, simply had other priorities and assumed that sooner or later his silent treatment would freak her out like it did with everyone else. Hermione, however, was almost as stubborn as he, and so she often chose his wordless company over that of her friends, even though she could not fathom what was going on inside that handsome head of his. Even after trying so hard, she knew next to nothing about the enigmatic boy. Thus it seemed that her other project was thriving much better than this one, after all.

Harry and the Weasleys, though trusting their new colonial friends more and more, did of course not like this development at all, for a part because of their assumptions that Heero was the spy, but also because they felt slightly neglected by Hermione. Their mistrust went so far they even tried to have somebody trailing the other boy all the time - that somebody losing his target on a regular basis. Heero's reclusive behaviour (and his vanishing acts) did nothing to dispel their suspicions. Even Neville started to reconsider his plans of trying to gain the Asian-looking boy as a friend, when Heero's attitude progressively turned from distant to cold. Heero was well aware of the wariness he was faced with, but did know no other way to react. The glares and occasional scathing remarks he was given by Duo and the cold shoulder he received from his other fellow pilots only boosted the theories about him and forced him further into the shell he had hoped to cast off.

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On Thursday afternoon Quatre felt dreadful at the prospect of Divination class. He would have preferred to skip that one, just like Hermione uncharacteristically suggested. It was all hot air anyway, as she put it, but, unlike her, he did not really have a choice. On hindsight, he was glad he did go, for he wouldn't have wanted to miss it for anything in the world.  
The carefully veiled exasperated looks Duo and Trowa were exchanging were simply hilarious to someone who knew how to look. And if he wasn't mistaken he had even seen Heero roll his eyes as he was confronted with a task that wasn't quite as simple for the three of them as it apparently seemed to the rest of the students. Harry and Ron sent the blonde colonial questioning looks as he stifled his giggles once more.

"Just observe Trowa and Duo…" they were told and indeed, those two (especially the usually so stoic Trowa) were funny to watch as they sent glares to their absent-minded teacher that would have scared more perceptive beings to death or at least a similar state.

"What's wrong with them?" Harry asked. And Ron added: "Drawing up birth charts for your horoscope really isn't hard and you can fool around with them…"

"You're right. That is, but for one tiny prerequisite… You have to know your birthday."

The others of their little gang were flabbergasted. How could you…? Harry, however, sobered up quickly, the reasons for not knowing something so fundamental were clear in times like these, once you really thought about it.

So he told Duo in a whisper: "Just invent something. That's what we all do half of the time in this class."

Duo gave him a grateful answering nod and the rest of the class passed with Quatre in a much more collected mood.

Still, the topic remained a matter of discussion among the group, as it gave the more experienced Hogwarts students more insights into their new friends' past. Trowa never really answered for his part, but Duo reluctantly offered the information that he had grown up on the streets and in an orphanage and simply had no idea of those personal details that had seemed so natural to the others before. When they realised that the colonial boys would not volunteer more, they started to wonder how to change the situation. Coincidence had it that a solution presented itself on the next morning.

Hilde awoke drowsily from slumber as she felt her feet, tangled in her sheets, touch something that made a rustling noise. She stretched lazily and remained still for a few more minutes, with a small smile on her face. During their conversation the evening before she had felt a little guilty, so she had not told anybody that it was indeed her birthday today. Coming from a poor family, birthdays had never meant much to her, but at least she knew the date…

Finally she sat up and noticed that the thing she had felt at her feet was actually an envelope with her name on it. Curiously she opened it. It held a card that read:

_The administration of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry wishes to congratulate Hilde Schbeiker on this 16th anniversary of her birthday. All the best wishes from the staff._  
(AN: _Okay, so this is artistic license - sue me_!)

Hermione caught her dazed expression and asked her what was wrong. The other girl just showed her the letter.

"Oh, why didn't you tell us? Happy birthday! I'll tell the others - it's Friday, so we just have to do something special tonight…"

And gone she was, leaving a stunned Hilde behind. Who would have thought, Hermione could be so bubbly and early in the morning, at that… Wait she didn't just go off to… Damn, now they'd all know…

Hermione, not having taken part in the Divination class, had no idea what she was doing when she was waving Hilde's card into the waiting boys' faces. "Did you know it's Hilde's birthday today? Any ideas what we could do?"

Quatre carefully peeled the card out of the girl's hands and read it with interest. "We should have thought about that yesterday… How does Hogwarts know whom to contact? How do they know a wizard reached the age of admission? They are bound to have some documents which state all our details…"

He looked up expectantly at Trowa and then at Duo, knowing the incident yesterday had bothered both of them more than they would want to admit. Hermione, however, was puzzled what this was all about, but proved very helpful once she learned about the situation.

"We always receive a school birthday card when our birthday falls into the school term, so I once asked Professor McGonagall. She said that the birth of every wizard leaves a kind of magical signature in the world which is then noted down by some device called Calendarium here in Hogwarts that prompts the birthday cards and school letters to be sent out. Maybe it does work the other way around, too…"

So it came to pass that neither Duo nor Trowa were paying much attention during the classes of that day. Too much was on their minds. If they could find out about there birthdays, what else would they find and did they really want to know? They were both unsure. Trowa was not too keen on finding out that he wasn't Catherine's long lost brother, after all. Duo did not want to learn that he once had been part of a family that simply dumped him, or anything of that kind. Yet, they were both curious enough to rush out of the class room of their last lesson for the week, when Professor Harris announced that they would have an excursion into the Muggle world next week as a practical lesson to enhance the pureblooded wizards' and witches' understanding of the Muggles' ways. Heero, who had not been present that morning, noted their with mild interest. What were they up to?

Professor McGonagall was surprised at the request that was presented to her by the two colonial students after lunch break, but granted it willingly. She led Duo and Trowa down a corridor in the staff wing they had yet to explore and opened the door to a cold and dusty room that smelled like an abandoned library. It also had all the makings of a library with shelves of parchment and age-old books, but for a strange ticking sound that came from a strange construction that covered the wall on the right. For some reason, it reminded Duo strongly of a cuckoo clock he had once seen, although, of course, it was considerably larger.

"So," Professor McGonagall said. "This is our Calendarium. Nobody really knows who built it and how exactly it works, but it does and that's all that matters. Also I should be able to make it tell you the information you want. Who wants to go first?"

Duo pushed his taller friend ahead. "But I only want to know my birthday…" Trowa said reluctantly.

McGonagall tried to smile reassuringly, though she could not quite grasp the boys' motives. While she pushed some button and turned some levers she said: "Just flick your wands under this opening here and…"

Trowa did as he was told and when sparks shot out of his wand, the whole construction started to rumble as if it would fall apart. Seconds later their teacher held a strip of paper in her and read out: "November 3, AC 179." The other information on the strip she kept to herself. Trowa was rooted to the spot - "I'll be seventeen in two months…" - until Duo impatiently pushed him out of the way. The process was repeated and McGonagall told Duo: "April 21, AC 180".

That night the gang partied with lots of food courtesy of the house-elves and butterbeer 'imported' by the twins as if there were three birthdays to celebrate. In the shadows of a window sill a lone figure sat wondering if he should go and find out for himself. Then again, would it really change anything? Foolish as it might seem, he'd rather not know and join the others instead, having a good time like them. Not be as invisible as the next best wall.

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_TBC _

_** AN: ** __ Not a masterpiece, but after I missed our anniversary last week, I just had to get it out, though it might seem a little prematurely.  
Thanks for reading and hope to see you again soon. _

_09/11/05 _


	17. And so it begins

** Hogwarts AC 196 **

** AN:   
** _ With another thank you to my wonderful reviewers we go… _

_on to chapter 17... _

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** Chapter 17: ** And so it begins…

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At St. Mungo's many victims of Voldemort's first attempt to rise to absolute power remained with little to no hope of betterment. Some were paid regular visits by family members, others were half forgotten. And some never ever saw a soul apart from the staff.

A young mediwitch in training suppressed a sigh as she read through the chart of a woman in her mid-thirties who fell under the latter category. The atrocities committed by the Death Eaters and their cruel leader had reduced some of the patients to constantly whimpering and quivering images of the people they had once been, while others kept kicking and screaming like crazed animals. Then again there were those who lay completely still like corpses, vegetating, the only sign of life their irregular pulse and barely noticeable breaths. One of them was the woman the efficiently working blonde was attending now.  
As she noticed no changes in her patient, her heart grew heavy. It was really a pity - the woman had had so much going for her. A graduate from Hogwarts and member of the resistance, she lost her husband and was tormented by the Dark Lord and his followers herself. However, it was only after her child went missing on one of the colonies some time after Voldemort's presumed defeat, that they had lost her for good, as it seemed. The mediwitch performed her duties thoroughly, then silently closed the door behind her, as she went on to take care of her next patients, the Longbottoms.

Sometimes she doubted her decision to apply as a healer here at London's wizard hospital. Sure, she considered it her vocation to care for the sick and injured - and after everything she had seen in the Muggle war, she should have been well prepared. Still… Maybe she should have taken a break from it all.  
At this point, the blonde's thoughts turned to other people who had been so strongly affected by that war and she wondered how the pilots were doing. She held loose contact with Relena Peacecraft who had kept her informed about the pilots' new lives or, in the case of the elusive Wing pilot, that there was still no news. MIA - the young healer only hoped that he was having a better life now, wherever he might be. She refused to assume the worst.

Somehow she immediately felt better about her own decision. This was a singular chance for her, one way to regain her connection to the magical world of her ancestors. Her own magical talent was not very prominent, just above Squib level. Because of the Muggle war she never could attend one of the schools for witchcraft and wizardry and having now passed the appropriate age, she never would. But the talent was there and though she was still very young, she had already been a fully qualified field doctor during the Muggle war, which paved her way to be accepted into training at the most renowned hospital in the wizarding world. And considering the new threat on the magical community, this was the place for her to be - the place where she could actually do something.  
Little did she know that, when her way lead her from treating the Longbottoms back to the staff room, a little note on the bulletin board would give her life yet another direction.

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The same Friday night of the celebration in Gryffindor Tower, Tonks and Remus were talking about next week's DADA lesson, indulging in a few butterbeers themselves. It had been obvious to the Metamorphmagus that Sirius' Order-related absence did not do the werewolf too good. To tell the truth, he was worried sick about his mate. If Tonks had ever been sure about anything, she knew for certain that losing her cousin one more time would kill her werewolf friend, so she had decided to distract him a little, even if she had to use the pretext of wanting to discuss work.  
After a while their conversation left work and Tonks brought up the topic of how Sirius and Snape suddenly behaved so civilised towards each other.

"I'm sure Sirius is up to something…And Snape's in there somewhere, too." Tonks concluded.

"Hm… I'm not sure I want to know…" Remus told her with a half-smile.

They slipped into companionable silence. It was only shortly interrupted when the werewolf added as an afterthought, this time with a full-fledged grin: "Actually, I'm certain I don't want to know."

After a while Remus perked up suddenly, inclined his head as if listening to something nobody else could hear, then relaxed. "He's coming home." There were times he was really glad about the new connection he had with Sirius after his lover's involuntary journey behind the veil…

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While most of Hogwarts was peaceful and more or less quiet, Slytherin house was in a riot. After the fiasco at the Ministry of Magic, Lucius Malfoy was rapidly losing influence among Voldemort's followers, also due to the fact that this colonial upstart had come up with some plan that had caught the Dark Lord's interest. And now Draco was feeling the effects of his father's sinking star while Fys was trying to undermine his position, getting some turncoats on his side.

Draco had been watching and waiting all week, knowing that Fys was not really a worthy adversary, yet, seeing how that newcomer and his prissy girl-friend gathered more and more people around them worried him. Even knowing that Slytherins first and foremost were loyal to themselves and no one else, he never expected people to turn their back on him so quickly.  
And not only he himself noticed the developments with well-disguised concern, even Crabbe and Goyle who usually seemed to share one brain (and that was Draco's), were edgy and kept threatening everybody who dared to get into their range. Thus the tension seemed to grow by the hour among the Slytherins, as if something was about to happen. Even those who never actually showed any adherence to anybody felt there was something in the air.

This one night, a snide remark by Fys aimed at Malfoy senior was the last straw. Fists and jinxes flew while a somewhat bewildered Draco Malfoy stood at the side, only deflecting curses when necessary, wondering how the world he had known could have come to this.

Half an hour later a fuming Professor Snape herded a group of ten limping and bleeding Slytherin students (some of them also sporting interesting results from a broad range of jinxes) to the school nurse. After she had treated them, sending some back to bed while keeping others over night in her ward, an exasperated, bleary-eyed Poppy Pomfrey had an interesting talk with a sympathetic headmaster.

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Meanwhile in Hagrid's hut, Fang nervously paced in front of the door until the half-giant reacted. "Oi, Fang calm down. Oo's der?"

Half expecting his three young friends heading down to him, for lately they had definitely neglected him a little, he gazed out his window towards the castle and indeed he saw movement up the hill, but it was a just single boy.  
One of the newbies or so it seemed. What was the kid doing there in the middle of the night? Hagrid threw open his door to intercept the kid before he could get into serious trouble, heading towards the Forbidden Forest. As he got closer to the colonial (yes, definitely none of the veteran students) he noticed something astonishing. Although the dark-haired kid was sure-footed and seemed to walk determinedly, there was a sleepwalking-like quality about him, which was only undermined when he called out to him.

"Oi, you dun wanna walk der…"

The kid froze almost startled and shook his head slightly as if to clear his mind. He looked at the game keeper with wide eyes, before he suddenly darted off towards the castle.

Weird. Now it was Hagrid shaking his head. He only hoped there were no regular sleepwalkers among the new students. That might turn out dangerous…

As a matter of fact, the sleepwalker was just as worried as Hagrid, if not more, about what had just occurred. Never before had something like this happened. It made him wonder as he hurried back towards his dorm, careful not to be seen.  
How could he have lost control this way, or rather, how could his superior's command dictate his actions like that? The situation was worse than he had feared. He felt the pull of his programmed reactions to orders during the daytime and found it hard to fight, but apparently his subconscious was even stronger affected than he thought. They had already stripped him off everything, only to mention his dignity and his self-determination, and now it felt as if they were intruding into the last private place he had - the innermost recesses of his mind.

He felt so disgusted with himself. This was just another confirmation that he was simply a tool for those who manipulated him, but he was determined to prove that he was more than a puppet on a string. He would not go back. Not to J and certainly not to that place…

Still, despite his resolve, he knew he was falling apart and there seemed to be no-one willing pick up the pieces. Aching all over, as if returning from a hard fight, Heero decided to treat himself with a hot shower. One that would burn away the pain and the revulsion…

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The next morning at breakfast the Slytherin table was uncharacteristically quiet and subdued, some among them still sporting signs of the previous night. The story spread like a wildfire among the rest of the students.

"You know," Fred said in a hoarse voice (he still felt the effects of the Firewhiskey he had mixed into his butterbeer). "The Slytherins should tear themselves apart more often. That would give us much less reason to worry about…"

The others couldn't resist the temptation of imagining a world without Slytherins. The picture had quite some appeal, but George quickly found the obvious flaw in it and pointed it out to his twin.

"But then we would have to play our tricks on people less deserving…"

"Yeah," Fred reconsidered and raised his coffee mug. "To the Slytherins. May they never die out… unless they get really bothersome."

Dumbledore chose that moment to rise in order to make an announcement, effectively silencing the laughter at the Gryffindor table.

"Recent events," there was a sharp look towards the Slytherins, "have brought it to our attention that there is still much left to be desired where the bonding between the new and the non-colonial students is concerned."

He paused for effect, while the Gryffindor gang exchanged questioning looks.

"The staff has discussed how to improve the situation and since nothing evokes some kind of team spirit like sports, we decided to hold a mini Quidditch tournament next week-end. Will the captains of the different house teams please contact their respective head of house to learn about the special rules."

There was a short stunned silence before exited whispers filled the Great Hall, keeping most of the students from hearing what their headmaster had to say additionally.

"On a side note, we also decided to reinforce our medical staff to assist Madam Pomfrey in her task." Harry devoured his breakfast to talk to Professor McGonagall as soon as possible.

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Meanwhile Sirius had waylaid Snape in order to discuss what he had found out. Despite his euphoria about his reclaimed freedom, he had not forgotten about the immediate threat to his godson. Therefore he was not too pleased when Snape could not report any progress.  
Then again, this piece of news only seemed to confirm their suspicions. Voldemort would not send just anybody who could be found out easily as a spy. The outward appearance of the boy was deceiving, but it was not really a surprise he could put up such a resistance. Yet Sirius knew he still had an ace up his sleeve.

"Let's try Veritaserum." He stated flat out. "I know you can make it, if you haven't even got a supply."

"What!" It was one of the few moments one could actually see Snape lose his composure. "You must be kidding. You know I'll have the Ministry breathing down my neck, if they find out. Any other truth serum would be bad enough, but Veritaserum… And besides, how am I supposed to make him drink it? You're out of your mind, Black."

"Oh, come on it wouldn't be the first time you're bending the rules, would it? Why not just give him detention for some reason, then have him take it. It's not like you never gave out ungrounded detentions before…"

Snape was not convinced so easily, yet after another twenty minutes or so of arguing he came to understand just how someone as level-headed as Remus Lupin ever got dragged into a league with James Potter and Sirius Black.

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Harry's delight at the news of the upcoming Quidditch tournament faded slightly once he heard that the teams had to be made up of newbies entirely, the veteran students were only to coach them and cheer them on. The matches would be held on the next weekend and would be shortened by the rule that declared the first team to reach one hundred points (or catch the Snitch, of course) the winner.

"Well," Harry thought. "At least I already know how to put together a decent team…"

That, however, was easier said than done. Although he was sure he could count on the skills of his new friends, a Quidditch team still consisted of seven people. Hence (and because nobody was supposed to accuse him of favouritism) he still had to hold tryouts in order to complete the team he was to coach. Not wanting to lose any precious time (Quidditch was a matter of honour, after all), he scheduled the tryouts right for the next day.

In between his planning of the strategy to determine the best candidates for the newbie team, hastily scribbled down homework and visiting Sirius, the day passed quickly and Harry went to bed full of anticipation.

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Later that night a dark shadow slid towards the Forbidden Forest, using every possible cover to remain unseen. As he (for that's what the shadow was) reached the edge, the tension in his shoulders eased. He knew he should not be here, but he was not really afraid of what was hidden in this prohibited area of the school grounds and he wanted to tire himself out in order to prevent something like last night's episode from happening again. Without spectators.

The dark-haired boy entered the forest with all senses in alert (there was no need to run unnecessary risks) and started his routine. After about an hour of workout which had carried him deeper into the wood, he neared the edge again a little further to the west from the place where he had entered, when his keen ears suddenly caught hushed voices to his right side. At first he wanted to give the owners of those voices a wide berth, but then his instincts told him to find out who was hiding out there. If he was correct, this meant bad news.  
Heero edged closer to the source of the sounds and there in some pale magical illumination sat three dark figures.

"Really, what good is all this waiting…" one of them said in a whiny voice.

"Do you doubt your lord's decision?" another male asked in a dangerous low tone.

"No! No… of course not," the first one hurriedly assured. "It's just… we almost have that boy on a silver platter and all we can do is wait…"

"The Dark Lord obviously has other plans. You should not assume to understand his reasons. I'm sure he wants to make 'the boy who lived' suffer for what he did…" the third person joined the hushed exchange.

None of them noted that they had been discovered, but the Wing pilot fumed as he listened on to what creative torture methods they wanted to submit the Potter boy. Heero himself was surprised at the flame of rage he felt growing inside of him. Even more so, when he suddenly experienced a strange kind of nausea that started with slight prickling at the back of his neck. His vision swam, when all of a sudden he heard the trespassers cry out.

The three Death Eaters never knew what hit them and never got the chance to disapparate when suddenly impenetrable walls of white-hot fire were closing in on them. Their screams as the blaze burnt away their flesh only reached Heero in a muffled way. He, too, was engulfed by the inferno, but he did not really notice anymore that the flames were only ghosting over his skin as the darkness closed in.

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When Hagrid left his hut in the morning, he immediately felt something was wrong. The usual bird song from the Forbidden Forest was missing. Warily he called Fang to his side and turned to the woods, instead of going up to the castle for breakfast, to find out more. It did not take long until he came across a clearing the sight of which shook him deeply.

Where only a day before there had been soft green grass, young growing trees and shrubbery bearing fruit, there now was a ring of blackness. An area that could have been drawn by a pair of compasses was completely burnt and covered in ashes, devoid of life. It was surrounded by scorched trees, but the strangest thing was that, although the scene within the affected spot spoke of an immense heat, there seemed to be no burn marks going beyond that circle of seared trees.

Hagrid was not quite certain what he was facing here, but he knew exactly what it was that had him rattled most. In the middle of the area lay three blackened forms. They were strangely shapeless and burnt beyond recognition, yet to Hagrid they bore a disturbing resemblance to human remains.

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To Duo's immense surprise, the curtains around Heero's bed were still closed when he got up on Sunday morning. He was too exited about the upcoming Quidditch trials to care much, so he did not look behind the curtains surrounding the bed to check if it was occupied.  
If he had, he would have discovered a very pale-looking, shivering Wing pilot whose wide eyes were staring into the distance.

Heero was utterly confused. Not much of what had happened to him lately made much sense, but what occurred the night before was way beyond his understanding. For some reason he had lost consciousness in the middle of a blazing inferno that had apparently killed some spies, only to wake up unscathed in the middle of the ashes. He had scrambled up the to the castle, only half aware of his surroundings, and turned to the showers immediately to wash away the grime and get warm again. Yet, lying in his usually warm bed, he could still smell the burnt human flesh, and he felt an unknown bone-deep cold. This was so wrong. He just could not explain. What was going on here?

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Gryffindor wasn't the only Quidditch team that intended to make good use of the time until the mini tournament, so the Great Hall at breakfast was unusually full of excitement for a rather early Sunday morning.

This hustle and bustle also explained why none of the students noticed the shocked silence that befell the staff table after a dishevelled-looking Hagrid entered and told his tale in a hushed voice. The teachers hastily took their leave to discuss the matter in a more secluded environment, while the students soon broke up to engage in their respective activities. Those who were not interested in Quidditch were few, so the majority went down to the grounds, either to watch or to try out themselves.  
Harry felt quite overwhelmed at the crowd that had gathered and the number of students who wanted to participate so he was particularly glad of the support of his 'real' team who were more than willing to help him.

A few minutes into the training he exasperatedly came to the conclusion, that he was even more glad they were there, because they could prevent some serious injuries from happening. Luckily, he had decided to simply check the newbies' abilities in the air first, by making them fly simple rounds at a moderate pace, as this provided him with a first cut in numbers. Some of the kids just were not meant to be flying. As the tasks he set got more demanding, by and by the final ten became obvious, among them Hilde, Duo, Trowa and Quatre.

Duo thoroughly enjoyed the air brushing through his hair as the training continued. He just felt awfully good. A little into the tryouts he had come to realise that his spot on the team was quite secure. Duo was not arrogant in this assessment, simply confident and rightfully so. Hardly anyone among the newbies could match his flying skill, and only Trowa with his incredible artistic abilities might be considered having an edge on him. At that moment Duo finally noticed the absence of one he would expect to rival him as well. Another look over the candidates confirmed it, Heero wasn't here. Duo felt disappointment well up inside him, but then again, it would have been foolish to expectHeero Yuy to try out for a TEAM . Still, Duo knew he would have liked to play with the stoic one at his side, even if he was quick to remind himself that this was only because he trusted him to be good for the team. No personal feelings involved whatsoever. None at all. Really. Heero Yuy was NOT a friend.  
A loud cheery yell from his girl Sarah brought him back to reality and he saw that Harry had called all remaining newbies down to talk to them.

Harry was not completely satisfied with the way the tryouts had been going. Sure, he now had reduced the candidates to eight, but he was in no way certain about the positions they were supposed to play. Trowa was the most likely to play keeper, yet for the rest… The further training sessions would have to show that. Still, Harry had the nagging feeling that he would have a hard time to determine a seeker…

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While most of the students were gathered around the different Quidditch trials and the teachers were rather puzzled by the corpses that had unexpectedly turned up in the Forbidden Forest, Heero uncharacteristically spent the morning huddled in bed, before he sneaked out to get at least a little lunch.

Passing the windows he got a quick glance of Hilde hitting another guy in the stomach with a bludger. He wasted no thoughts on that, however, he concentrated merely on the task of getting something into his stomach which was not easy because he felt so strangely unstable on his feet.

During his stay at Remus Lupin's, he had rid himself of the idea that meals had nothing but nutritional worth and had discovered more about his personal taste. Yet during the last few days, he had returned to eating mechanically, simply to sustain his body (also to make up for the past months), and sometimes skipping meals because he felt uncomfortable in the crowd, but also because of the knot he felt in his stomach. This lump he felt ever more sharply when he was met with yet another glare or another pinprick remark by those he considered friends. It seemed to be growing, tangling his insides in a cold grip, and he just couldn't get rid of it, no matter how often he emptied his stomach.

Now, however, he knew he had to recharge his batteries, as it were, if he wanted to get over whatever was happening to him. Luckily and somewhat expectedly the Great Hall was rather empty and no-one took notice of him as forced down a few bites.

Torn between wanting more information and the more pressing need to rest and get some fresh air, Heero finally decided to retreat to what was quickly becoming his sanctuary - the roof. From there he watched as his friends easily outdid most of the others on their brooms.

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Unlike this morning, dinner that night was far more quiet. Some of the students were subdued because they had not made it into the team, the others were simply too tired by a day filled with what the twins called the 'bestest' game in the world. Hardly anyone noticed the new addition sitting at the staff table, not even the former pilots to whom it was a familiar face as they were about to see.

This night it was not Professor Dumbledore who stood up to make an announcement, but Professor McGonagall who stepped in for the absent headmaster. She cleared her throat to catch the students' attention.

"Due to a disturbing incident we wish to remind every student to stay out of the Forbidden Forest and to not leave the castle after lights out under any circumstance." She paused to emphasise her point before she continued.

"On a happier note, we are pleased to welcome Ms. Sally Po on our medical staff."

There was friendly applause throughout the rows, some guys pointing out to their friends just how young and 'hot' the new nurse was. At the Ravenclaw table, however, one student sat shell-shocked and so did a few among a certain group of Gryffindors, before a joyful yell rang through the hall: "Sally!"

The familiar voice immediately had Sally's attention and she gave Duo a broad smile and a short wave. Her own joy to see a known face grew when she spotted Trowa and Quatre next to him. Seeing her raise a questioning eyebrow, they pointed her gaze over to the Ravenclaw table to Wufei who received another dazzling smile. Her wandering eyes did not spot the Wing pilot, however, so she decided to inquire after him when they finished their meal. After all, Relena had not informed her about the other guys being here, maybe, just maybe…

Duo's outburst naturally caused many questions among the surrounding Gryffindors, still they did receive some privacy when Sally approached them after dinner. There was a big fuss as she hugged every single one of them, remarking on how they had all grown to be taller than her. As she told them how she got there, they were duly impressed by her dedication and looked forward to having her near. To Wufei's surprise he found himself tongue-tied looking into the young healer's face, but luckily Duo made up for that easily. He was just introducing Harry, Ron and Hermione when Sally noticed a certain mop of unruly chocolate-coloured hair slipping towards the doors.

"Hey guys, isn't that… HEERO!"

The thus addressed teen turned around, his eyes immediately finding the source of the call. He still felt a little out of it so, yearning for some peace and quiet, he just nodded a greeting and continued on his way.

Sally was slightly perplexed by this, but she knew Heero sometimes had the tendency to be a bit of an oddball. She would talk to him at a later point in time. While Sally didn't mind at all, Wufei felt an inexplicable anger build up inside. How dare Heero… Couldn't he treat Sally with the respect she deserved!

The other pilots soon forgot about the incident, but Wufei could not quite get it out of his head. Neither could Harry, who had once again stumbled across a confirmation that the six colonials (including Hilde) somehow formed a kind of unit that had been broken by the cold-eyed enigma. He would have to discuss that later with the Weasleys, just like what the twins had found out in the meantime concerning the 'incident' McGonagall had talked about.

And discuss they did, while their new friends' topic remained the arrival of their slightly older friend, the group of veteran students chose to quietly talk through their new findings as the object of their suspicions was once again sitting on one of the window sills. The twins told them all they had learnt about the scorched area in the Forbidden Forest, which admittedly was not much since the staff themselves were still puzzling over what might have happened there.  
Unfortunately Hermione chose that moment to approach Heero who she had noticed looked extremely pale. As the two of them talked softly (well, at least Hermione talked), Ginny stated matter-of-factly: "If we really think this guy is the spy, then we have to make sure to keep him away from Hermione. Otherwise she might be in danger." However, it was Heero's own doing, or rather his non-existent reaction, that made Hermione turn away frustratedly this evening.

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The next day, for the students, began rather boring with another History of Magic lesson they could sleep through, while Sirius set out again to follow a group of Death Eaters on whatever errand they had to run for their Dark Lord. Remus had a bad feeling about this, but he would not dream of holding his mate back.

To Duo and Hilde the absolute highlight of the day was the Quidditch training which was now accompanied by considerably less spectators, but provided even more fun for them, for now they were going at it 'for real'.  
As expected, it was soon clear that Trowa was going to be the keeper, even Ron admitted grudgingly that he had some talent. Hilde immediately hugged him for that comment and whispered that he had nothing to fear for his spot on the 'real' team which made the red head smile goofily.

Surprisingly, Hilde and Quatre both made it clear that they would play beater and nothing else. Although they both did not look like it they could throw a mean punch (with the bludgers) so Harry could only agree that this role was cut out for them. As for the rest, the team captain had considered Duo the most likely choice for seeker, but the braided boy insisted he play chaser, which left Harry with a serious problem. He could picture none of the other candidates in this position, yet confronted with Duo's puppy eyes he couldn't help giving in and simply hoped that training would bring out the best in the others (or at least one of them), even if he couldn't see it yet.

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On Tuesday, their Potions class, to many students' disappointment, took place in the original classroom again. Apparently Snape had got rid of all traces of the prank over the weekend. As their teacher entered the room, the look on his face told the more experienced Hogwarts students (among them the Weasley twins this time) immediately that they were in for a 'fun class'. They heaved a sigh of relief, however, when it became clear that Snape's wrath today was aimed at one single person.

"So," Snape suddenly directed a nasty smirk at an unsuspecting Heero. "Mr. Yuy, it has come to my ears that you played some part in this… little prank here. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Heero just met the teacher's glare with narrowed eyes. He had only a vague idea where this was supposed to be going, but he knew there was nothing he could say or do to stop it. Nothing he WOULD say. He wouldn't rat on Duo, no matter what.

The others in the room, however, did not know this. At least most of them didn't. Despite their anger at him, the other ex-pilots had no doubt about their comrade keeping quiet, while the twins were deeply worried, just like all those who sided with them.

The staring match continued and many of those who witnessed it were astonished that this almost skinny kid could hold his own. Snape, however, was very pleased with how things were going.

"I see." He uttered the words with great relish. "I guess you can think about this during detention on Friday night."

Heero's eyes narrowed even more, but he kept quiet, as the class continued in typical Snape fashion. Once it was finished and they were out of Snape's hearing range, the twins pulled Duo to the side.

"Damn, we're in for it now."

"Oh, come on guys." Unfortunately Heero chose that moment to brush past them, not refraining from pushing Duo harshly to the side and giving him one of his meaner glares in passing.

"See," Duo turned back to the twins grinning like a mad man. "He loves me…"

The twins only looked at each other shaking their heads as Duo continued after Heero, purposefully swinging his braid. Of course Heero could have done much worse to him, had he wanted to. It did not take a genius to understand that the Wing pilot was mad at having to play the scapegoat, yet Duo took it as a good sign that he had not gone all zero system on him, but once again, the twins did not know that and following their instincts they decided to keep playing Heero's shadow.

Wufei felt an inexplicable 'grim' satisfaction at what he saw happening - and immediately felt bad for it. He didn't understand himself, but some part of him told him that Heero deserved a little retaliation. So he followed the developments with great interest and a little amusement as he watched the suspicious glances and listened in to the theories made up by Harry and the Weaslays.  
Yet that evening, when he saw Hermione stubbornly approach the standoffish youth he understood their worry perfectly. Hermione was a nice girl, she did not deserve to be hurt by Heero's unfeeling attitude. When the girl left disappointedly, he took matters into his own hand and approached the boy he had once respected immensely. Heero looked up pleasantly surprised when he noticed the former pilot of Shenlong nearing. The look in the other's eyes made him hesitate, however, so he simply waited for what Wufei apparently needed to say.

"You should leave her alone, Yuy." Wufei glared down at the smaller teen.

Heero took a moment to process everything. _What had he done this time?_

Meanwhile Wufei continued despite himself, almost hissing: "I won't stand by and watch you carelessly shatter another heart."

Hesitantly Heero stood up and asked quietly: "Is it so hard to believe I care?"

Hearing those words made Wufei's heart ache, yet something drove him on to give the answer he would later regret deeply: "Yes."

Wufei was astonished at how cold this simple one-word answer sounded and immediately felt remorseful. Even more so, when he saw an unfamiliar emotion flit across Heero's face, but it was gone before he could clearly identify it. _Was that hurt?_ For a moment Heero stood still as a statue, then he nodded without looking at Wufei and turned on his heel.

Left staring after the leaving teen, Wufei couldn't help feeling like had just made a grave mistake and while it had felt good to let out the frustration he never even realised inside himself before, he now felt awful.

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Meanwhile, Sirius mission had brought him to the edges of a wizard village in Belgium. He had been following a few lesser known Death Eaters who, to his dog senses, seemed to be radiating excitement by now. Unfortunately nothing they said had made it any clearer what was about to happen. Still Sirius felt a dark sense of foreboding. Something felt awfully wrong here. He could smell dozens of people close by, but the smell was not coming from within the village. He caught a glimpse of a few men… in camouflage! And 'his' Death Eaters were communicating via some strange Muggle device - what was it called - radio?

The whole situation had Sirius confused, then he noticed a line of men closing in on the unsuspecting village. They looked fierce and were armed with Muggle weapons, Sirius noticed, and suddenly he grasped what was going on. He let out a series of furious barks to alert the villagers, but when the first curious wizards showed their faces, they were immediately felled in a hail of gunfire. The second line of villagers were either too dazed or felt honour-bound not to use magic against Muggles.

Sirius himself was drawn out of his own shock at the sight of disbelief on their faces when they went down in the next round of bullets. Yet before he could intervene, THEY were back. He wanted to transform into his human self, but there they were, the shadows that haunted him, ganging up on him, keeping him from changing. He was mad with fury, barking and biting wildly, without ever getting a hold. He tried his very best to aid the wizards under attack, still he could not shake off these airy, water-like human shapes from behind the veils. They were not solid, but held immense strength. The fact that he had never seen them outside his dreams after his return only added to his terror. After a hard struggle, he could only lie there panting and witness the atrocities committed by soldiers and Death Eaters alike as the entered they village.

Bodies were piling up in the streets, blood was running in streams. Screams telling of horrible pain were ringing in Sirius' ears, only to break off. Smoke started to burn in his nostrils as houses caught fire. The attackers withdrew and vanished while the cackling fire burnt away all the traces of what had just happened in a matter of little over an hour. The shadows gradually let go of the animagus but hovered near him, staring at the gruesome sight, just like Sirius himself. They had condemned him to watch helplessly as by and by the whole village was wiped out, yet he slowly came to understand that they had tried to protect him for some reason. He had felt like he was drowning in a sea of blood, but the shadows kept him safe. The animagus' knees gave out. Death had come to visit this village and Sirius Black was the only one who lived to tell the tale.

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TBC

_** AN: ** __ I hope you enjoyed reading this. Let me know what you thought of it. Thanks for reading and hope to see you again soon. _

_10/23/05 _


	18. New perspectives

**Hogwarts AC 196**

_**AN:**_

_Hey there. I kept you waiting long enough, so I won't give you the list of my excuses. However, I would like to tell you that this is actually not the whole chapter as I had planned it, but it was getting longer and longer without actually reaching an end, so I decided to split it and post it as it is now. Oh, and since I have a new computer, this is posted in a new format (let's see how ff displays it this time...) and not spell-checked..._

_Many were asking for the pilots to make up – well here is a first change, though not the way you might wish for (nor is it the big bang some of you expected). It will take a little longer for everything to be alright between them, but I swear it WILL happen. Sometime..._

_I do realize that I have been dragging out the drama for too long, but hey, I had lots of fun with it (must be my suppressed sadistic side) and you mustn't forget that, while I have taken months to write this little monster of mine and in the story months have passed between the end of the war and the pilots' reunion, they are only actually in the third week after they met again – not a short period to hold a grudge, but not such a long time, either._

_As for the italics last chapter – I blame it all on ff, but I'll try and fix it right away..._

_Anyways, thanks to all the reviewers and I hope you enjoy..._

_On with the story..._

**Chapter 18:** New perspectives

Back in Hogwarts, Remus Lupin sat up straight in his bed, panting harshly. What a nightmare… Even worse was the fact that he knew it was more than that. This strange connection Sirius had built up with him after his return had now provided him with the images of what his mate was going through. It was utterly horrible. And it was real.

Not wasting another second, the werewolf jumped up, carelessly put on some clothes and rushed out of his room to find Dumbledore...

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At the same time a biting pain to his scar shook Harry out of his sleep. Of course, even in his sleepy state, he knew exactly that this was another echo of Voldemort experiencing a strong sensation. Throwing all care overboard, he tried to detect what this was about. Luckily his common sense returned before he delved too deep into the Dark Lord's mind again. No. Never again would he try to outwit that monster's cunning mind. Harry had learned his lesson the year before. Still, he could determine that the Dark wizard was immensely pleased about something, which was never good news for Harry and the people on his side. Cold dread gripped him, but a look around the room told him that his dorm mates were fast asleep and he did not have the heart to wake them, since he did not really know what to tell them. After staring into the darkness for a while, Harry suddenly realized he had been mistaken. Not everyone in the dorm was asleep - one bed was empty. And who else could be out than the elusive Yuy. Harry quickly grabbed the map and was rather surprised to find the dot labelled Heero Yuy up on the roof, unmoving. What could he be up to there. It was not as if he could do much damage there, but what if he was secretly communicating with someone. As far as Harry knew, the other boy did indeed have his own owl, so…

Being the son of a Marauder, Harry could of course not just sit back and wait, so he took out his invisibilty cloak and went to investigate a little.

On his way they green-eyed Gryffindor allowed his thoughts to stray. Harry sometimes wondered how someone who at first sight seemed to be physically inferior to himself - who was just a lanky youth and definitely not the most athletic person in the universe despite all the Quidditch training- could appear so threatening. Maybe that was just what made him the perfect spy, letting others underestimate him. Also, Harry had noticed that the other had grown a (admittedly only little) bit and appeared somewhat less scrawny than before. Yet Harry sometimes doubted his own judgement. And if he were honest, the behaviour of his new colonial friends did not add up either. They made him out to be dangerous, but at the same time seemed to show there was no reason for fear. Harry was confused, but so far every attempt to get to the bottom of this situation had led nowhere.

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Meanwhile with Heero, things were looking sombre again. He did not quite understand how he could have felt his heart breaking, when everyone kept telling him that he had none, but the phrase fit best to the hurt he had experienced at Wufei's harsh words. He was shocked to find that even the usually so controlled pilot could harbour so much anger at him. And it did not look like he could fix whatever he had done any time soon. Maybe J was right after all and he was just too destructive for society. Heero's thoughts and feelings were in a jumble.

The Perfect Soldier only knew betrayal in the militaristic sense. Hurt was a usually short-lived incapacitation of the body and not a matter of the heart - which was only an organ needed to keep the body functioning. The Perfect Soldier did not know the feeling of loss nor the emotion called loneliness - but Heero sure did. While the Perfect Soldier could easily forget about the pains of the past, Heero could not. He was haunted by by what he himself had done – and what had been done to him.

The Perfect Soldier might have been conditioned to act like an AI machine, but in the end, Heero was just a teenage boy. And while Heero would always have a hard time to get rid of every last trace of his soldier alter ego, the Perfect Soldier could not exist without the very human boy.

The two had been one single unit at some point, but with time they had grown apart. Heero felt almost schizophrenic thinking of himself that way. Yet, he could not deny that these two sides of him had started to be in conflict. Right now, however, the boy felt like he could not make it alone, without the Soldier. He had heard the Weasleys' and their friends' suspicions and he could not care less, or at least pretend not to notice. The other pilots, however, were the people who really mattered to him. It could no longer be ignored that the bond between him and them was definitely broken. Therefore, he tried his old means of getting rid of the hurt, but as he cut rather deep, he secretly knew he could not bleed out the pain of his heart. Watching his blood flow freely did not bring him the calm he longed for.

Just then, the only remaining friend he seemed to have approached, a reprimanding look in his cat eyes. The contact of fur on skin tore Heero out of the deepest pit of his depression. Slightly dizzy he cleaned himself up and righted himself, he had come to a decision – one that put his former resolve in the wrong, but for the moment it seemed to be the only way to cope. And thus the boy Heero Yuy relinquished the charge and set the Perfect Soldier free to take over. It seemed like the right thing to do.

Of course the soldier would struggle against his instincts to follow J's orders, yet he had enough free reign to decide on the right course, which at the moment definitely consisted of trying to ward off the war for which they were heading, or protect the people who needed his help if it came to the worst. The Perfect Soldier was much better suited for this job than the boy and afterwards – if there _was_ an afterwards – he could always decide again on what to do then.

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Harry was shocked to say the least, when he peered out of the skylight and saw the boy he had been looking for. He saw a slumped figure on the roof whose posture spoke of his misery. The Boy-who-lived could barely contain an outcry, when he saw the other boy slash at his arms with a knife. He was just preparing to climb out to stop the other when Crookshanks appeared at Yuy's side and jumped on his lap.

To his astonishment he heard the boy whisper dejectedly: "Go away. You shouldn't be here. And I'm making you all bloody..." He gently pushed Hermione's pet away. "Go already. No need to worry..."

And after giving Heero a sharp glance, the feline indeed turned away, heading straight towards where Harry was hidden. It gave Harry a strange feeling when Crookshanks stopped directly in front of him and seemed to look right into his eyes. He sensed that the cat had noticed his presence despite the cloak and was trying to tell him to leave the other boy alone, but maybe he was just out of his mind. Still, he continued to watch Yuy silently, wondering what was amiss with him and whether he would not better go out and get him to the hospital wing. Luckily, but also full of wonder, he could see the blood stop flowing as he looked on. Somehow he felt he might have been wrong about the other. He wasn't a threat to him and the Order of the Phoenix – it rather seemed he was a threat to himself!

Yet, just as he was coming to this conclusion, he could see the boy in question straighten up and there was a visible change about him. As Heero stood up and turned his face skyward, the dejection from before seemed to fall off and Harry could perceive a strength and confidence he had not detected inside the other as yet. For the first time, he would even consider his aura a bit dangerous, still, for some strange reason, he rather felt pity than fear. Certain that Yuy would not harm himself any further and with a lot on his mind, Harry withdrew before the puzzling colonial would notice his presence.

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Meanwhile in Dumbledore's office, the (inofficially) official members of the Order of the Phoenix residing at Hogwarts were awaiting Sirius' return anxiously. Remus had told them in few words what he had seen (leaving out those strange shadows he could not even explain to himself). They sent out owls to find out whether there had been more attacks of the kind in other places, but so far nothing seemed to indicate that. It was all very mysterious and the only thing they could do was wait, which did not sit too well with them. Mad-Eye Moody suspected that this was only the beginning of a series of assaults and that they should put up sentinels in every wizard-populated place. Dumbledore pointed out politely that it was quite impossible to have sufficient guards in every location inhabited by wizards. Yet it was symptomatic that nobody among them could formulate a constructive approach for how to deal with the situation.

When a visibly shaken Sirius finally showed up, he related the tale from the beginning. Still, no-one could quite understand why Voldemort would wipe out an entire village in Belgium. It seemed strangely far off his main target.

"What is his aim? Alerting the public to his return? Well, he already did that – it doesn't make much sense..." Tonks mused aloud.

"It did seem as if the Death Eaters were looking for something..." Sirius murmured in a voice that reflected his physical and emotional exhaustion. As Remus took his hand in a consoling gesture, a thought struck him.

"What was the name of the village again?"

"Dondersteenhuizen... Why?"

The werewolf and the headmaster exchanged a look of sudden understanding that had the others present puzzled.

"What?" Tonks asked exasperatedly.

Remus voice took on an ominous note as he replied: "The library..."

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The next day the whole school was filled with a strange atmosphere. It had not taken long for the news to spread, once the first owls with letters and morning papers arrived. Then the deputy headmistress announced that the classes of the day would be cancelled due to the circumstances, and the students were thrown into an emotional chaos. 'Why' was the main question on everyone's mind? Why such an attack? Why erase a whole village? Why Belgium? Why would Muggles attack wizards? What was going to happen now?

Some people were simply grieving for all the lost souls, others were plain angry. Very few of the students knew how to deal with the situation.

Harry was appalled to remember the joy he had felt through the link with Voldemort and then find out the reason for it. The information even drove away the thought of what he had witnessed on the school's roof. He and his friends were simply confused and sad – and astonished how their colonial friends could react so coolly to the news.

All Duo had to say at first was: "So it has begun now..." Hermione could only look at him exasperatedly. "That's all you can say? Do you know how many people died there – simply because of the whim of a madman?" Quatre felt the need to calm her down. "Hermione, it's not like we don't care. It's just – we've seen too much of it before..." He trailed off with a helpless smile. 'And we've caused too much of it, ourselves...' Duo added in his thoughts as he tried to keep the cool he portrayed on the outside on the inside as well.

Since the staff were too occupied with themselves, the students felt rather left alone in their confusion. It was only a matter of time, before the accusations started flying around. Muggle soldiers attacking wizards – of course it was all the colonials' fault. They were probably some mercenaries left over from the rebel groups. What else could you expect from them? Probably the Gundam pilots would line up with You-know-who next and then what of the wizarding world? Hopefully they would all be sentenced to death and be done with...

It was an unwelcome distraction to Hermione, but helpful for her state nonetheless, as these remarks gave her something to do. Suddenly she found herself detached from the rest of the grieving student body. She was still very much upset, of course, but also appalled at how easily the public opinion could be swayed. She wondered why all those people tended to see only the extremes. It was not as if the world were black and white. And who was to say where those mercenaries had come from. Certainly there were veteran soldiers from both sides out for hire. And so it happened that, while most of her friends half-heartedly decided to work off their frustration by training some more for the Quidditch tournament, she slaved in the library for one of her special projects.

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Harry finally came to a difficult decision. There was no sense in procrastinating any longer. He had watched the potential members of the Gryffindor colonial team during their play and it seemed the best choice to put Casey McCauldron in the position of the Seeker and ask Torben Binsterbottle to be the stand-in. Casey was at least a little better where hand-eye coordination was concerned and did not tend to fall off his broom when he reached for the Snitch, even if he wasn't the fastest guy around.

It wasn't much of a choice, but he hoped the rest of the team would make up for their rather second-rate Seeker. After all, in this kind of tournament they would not necessarily need to catch the Snitch – that was the only spark of hope for the young teamleader. And just maybe Casey would have a lucky streak – it was not unheard of that some players only performed well when they played 'for real'...

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In the afternoon, Hermione finally presented her results to her friends. As she approached her friends' table in the Gryffindor common room with a resolute air, a familiar box in her hand, Ron had a strange feeling of déjà-vu - and he was not mistaken. She spilled the contents on the table, which turned out to be some badges. Ron picked one of them up carefully.

"Dog pee?" he read out questioningly. "Honestly, Hermione, what's that supposed to mean?" The twins laughed out loud. The girl might have lots of good plans, but she really had no talent for naming them.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "D-O-G-P – Defense Organisation for the Gundam Pilots, you morons..."

And she went on explaining why it was important to fight for justice for the pilots. The whole common room listened as she pointed out why she considered it unfair against the Gundam pilots to put them (and only them) on trial. She outlined a few interesting facts, showing she had researched thoroughly. Duo, Quatre and Trowa shifted a little uneasily in their seats when they realised how close she had come as she even told everyone about the 'rumours' that the pilots were only a bunch of kids themselves. It was oddly endearing to see her so committed for their (lost?) cause, even though she only managed to convince a few people to support her openly. Even her closer friends remained a little evasive.

The Perfect Soldier, however, felt the need to put her off. It would not do to let Hermione draw attention to herself and by doing so compromise the Gundam pilots as well. It was better to stop her before they would regret it. Therefore he showed himself unusually vocal when he told her in unmistakable words: "This is bullshit."

Hermione could only watch open-mouthed as he walked away with determined strides. She was deeply disappointed to find the one person who she thought would truly side with her on an intellectual basis turn her down. The other ex-pilots exchanged wide-eyed looks mirroring their incomprehension.

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During dinner Professor McGonagall once more had an interesting announcement to make. The staff had decided that it did not suffice for the students to know how to fight magically, they also needed to know what could await them in the Muggle world if the Dark Lord resorted to using mercenaries. Therefore, Muggle studies from now on would also include Muggle styled fighting lessons. The group of former pilots and Hilde exchanged doubtful looks. The opinion of the other students was marked by mixed emotions, but in the end most of them thought it would come in handy.

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That night, there were many at Hogwarts who had a hard time finding sleep. One troubled soul, however, was strangely and unusually at peace. For once, Sirius felt undisturbed by the shadows that had bothered him for so long. As a matter of fact, he sensed that they were keeping the haunting images from that village away from him as he rested. Sirius had finally come to realize what it was the shadows wanted from him. They were not looking to torture him – they were simply desperate for his help, a help he wished he could grant them, if only it would not make everything worse. Still, now that he understood what was going on, he was resolved to make things work. One of his greatest talents as a former Marauder was making things happen, so if there was a way, he would find it – or rather he would make a certain somebody find it...

As Sirius drifted off to sleep, he was unaware that he had once more opened the mental link to his mate who was lying next to him, staring confusedly into the dark. It was disturbing to see what had troubled his lover all this time, even more to notice familiar features among those shapes he had seen. Suddenly he understood the true nature of the shadows he had first laid eyes upon while witnessing the events in Belgium. Nevertheless he wasn't sure what to make of this situation. Well, tonight he would keep Sirius safe in his arms, but tomorrow there was some serious talking to be done.

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The next day the school was back to business as usual and the student body had calmed down for the most part – after all, Belgium seemed very far away still and what could they do?

Considering what had happened before, this Thursday passed rather unspectacularly. There were only minor accidents during Care of Magical Creatures and Divination proved rather dull. There were only a few people who noticed a change in Heero. Unconsciously, the rest of the student body reacted to the change in the Wing pilot. Where all the while before, the cobalt-eyed boy had hovered around the edges, almost making an effort to remain unnoticed, he now cut the shortest line wherever he went and people unawares moved out of his way. Some people wondered at the glares they received from one who had seemed almost shy before.  
By midday, Quatre, too, had figured out that there was a harder edge around the other's eyes, but he wasn't sure how to explain it. Thinking back on the Wing pilot's behaviour towards Hermione, he realized, however, that the other reminded him of the time when they had first met the Perfect Soldier. The idea did not sit well with him, so he decided he really needed talk to the stoic boy.

However, as it so often happens with resolutions, this plan was again soon forgotten in the face of reality. The free part of the afternoon was filled with more Quidditch practice since Harry was rather anxious to try and bring out the best in the newly appointed Seeker, but it was quite clear to everyone involved that things would totally depend on the performance of the rest of the team, the chasers in particular. By the time Quatre remembered his intentions, it was already time for bed and Heero was nowhere to be found.

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TBC

**AN: **_I hope this did not look so bad to you as it did to me. As I said, part of the next chapter (which actually was still this one, at first) is already written, so I hope the next update will happen a little sooner (though I can't promise anything) and I see you around, then. _

_A little shameless advertisement: I'm also going to post the first chapter of a story in the Beyblade fandom that has been on my mind for almost as long as this one. While at first I thought it would interfere with this story, I have now realized it is there anyway, so I might as well write it. _

_Thanks for reading and, as you know, feedback is always appreciated._

03/05/06


	19. Too little, too late?

**Hogwarts AC 196**

_**AN:**_

_Oh well, this chapter did not quite turn out the way I wanted it to, but hey, I promised it would be out soon, didn't I? Once again, I could not fit in all I wanted to fit in, so it is another chopped off chapter... Hope you still consider this a nice read._

_Thanks to all those who reviewed. You always brighten my day._

_And here is..._

**Chapter 19:** Too little, too late?

Friday started off calmly. As time for a double class of Muggle Studies was drawing close, however, the tension among the students rose notably. The older group was expected to attend in its entirety again (in whatever they had that came closest to workout clothes) and they were a little unsure what to expect. They were surprised to learn that during her leave Martha Harris had actually worked as a martial arts instructor together with her unknown husband. So it was her who welcomed them in her magically changed classroom for their first lesson in Muggle fighting while Lupin, Tonks and Moody were also present to see how they were doing and to help out.

The tables and chairs had been removed and the floor was padded with judo mats. There were also what most of them could only identify as 'sticks', 'swords' and 'other weapons' which were eyed with fascination and scepticism alike, although it soon became clear that they were only displayed for show.

For some reason, the teacher seemed a bit reluctant as she called for the students' attention by informing them that she would not be instructing them in one particular technique, but present them with the basics of self-defense in a sort of cross-over of the different fighting styles to begin with, and then probably deepen their training in the course of the school year.

First off, she asked whether some students had a little experience in this department and unsurprisingly there were quite a few, all colonials, who (some rather reluctantly) raised their hands. Harry noted strangely unsurprised that his new friends were all included in this group.

They were paired up, always one student who was at least a little more familiar with Muggle fighting together and one who was totally new to it. Harry ended up with Trowa, Hermione with Quatre and Ron was quite enthused to find himself with Hilde as his partner. Wufei was given the possibility to get to know a Hufflepuff seventh year who had no fighting experience whatsoever, but at least looked fit enough to keep the Chinese ex-pilot from total desperation. Duo was to fight with George whose unfortunate twin was paired up with the presumptious Daniel Fys who, judging by his behaviour, must have been triple black belt in seven categories of martial arts (though Malfoys' glares were clearly promising that he would soon be dead no matter what his alleged skills were).

They started out easy enough, learning how to fall correctly which did not give anyone trouble – well, no-one but Neville who, not being very athletically inclined, had the pleasure of being faced with the Perfect Soldier throwing him to the ground unceremoniously. Luckily, most were too preoccupied with themselves to notice and those who did were able to assess that Heero was actually using his strength in a very controlled way, even if it would not look like it to most. Neville, on the other hand, did not care for what it looked like, he felt completely winded after the first try and was not really keen on experiencing more of this. _Did the other have to hit him so hard? He did not even look him in the eye, had not said a single word to him actually... Did he do anything wrong to make that strange boy angry?_ Neville was a little miffed, but did not want to appear wimpish, so he was determined to endure silently for as long as he could.

Soon class turned to more interesting and slightly more demanding things, covering the most important attacks and how to counter them. Although, in the beginning they were only expected to practice the moves together, they soon had little sparring matches. Harry with his sports talent actually found this part of the lesson thoroughly enjoyable, although it did not take long for him to realize that he did not stand a chance against someone as fighting fit as his opponent. Still, he could see that he was getting somewhere and whenever the taciturn Trowa felt so inclined he gave him useful advice. An ominous voice deep down inside of him kept telling Harry that he shouldn't take this as a game since he might be in need of such fighting skills in the not so far future, but it was quickly suppressed.

Hermione was rather surprised to find out first-hand what a vicious fighter Quatre could be. After a little indignation in the beginning, she realized, however, that it would not make too much sense to go easy on her, if she wanted to be prepared for whatever might be thrown at her in real life. So it was soon Quatre's turn to be surprised at the determination his partner showed.

Meanwhile, Ron was reluctant to attack a girl, especially Hilde, but before long he understood never to underestimate the so-called weaker sex and the two of them trained together companionably. At the same time, to most of the others' glee, Fred gave the wannabe-champion Fys a lesson in modesty. Although the cocky colonial did have some basic knowledge of martial arts, he did not stand a chance against someone as agile and resourceful as this Weasley. As a matter of fact, Duo himself had a lot of fun fighting against the other half of the terror twins. Despite his lack of knowledge and training, George proved himself to be a slippery and clever opponent. Although he posed no real threat to Duo, the former Deathscythe pilot enjoyed being met with a challenge.

In the meantime, the Perfect Soldier was holding back for obvious reasons, most importantly not to blow his cover, of course. Still, that did not alter the fact, that this class was anything but enjoyable for Neville. He was sure he would spend the coming weekend in bed, nursing his aching muscles. A desperate glance to the clock hanging on the wall told him, that this torture was far from being over. However, the miserable look he displayed after this realization was not lost on Tonks who, along with the other teachers, was passing through the lines of students.

If she or her colleagues were surprised at the level of skill they noticed in some of them, she did not comment on it. Although she could not assess Yuy's real prowess, she was well aware that he and Longbottom were not evenly matched and finally she could no longer ignore the downcast look of the chubby boy.

After a whispered exchange of Tonks and Mrs Harris, the students were told to change partners freely and try to apply what they had learned in a (more or less) free fight.

By pure chance (or was it fate?) Duo ended up standing beside Heero. Wordlessly both of them took on a fighting stance, waiting for the teacher's signal to go, while their fellow pilots observed this pairing with worry. The Perfect Soldier's expression was characteristically unreadable, but Duo's eyes were narrowed with burning anger that shone more and more obviously the longer they had to wait.

Duo was astonished to find how keen he really was on this fight. Usually, in a regular sparring match, the odds would have been in favour of Heero who, despite appearances, possessed the greater physical strength and better technique, but Duo was a wicked fighter who used everything he got – you couldn't survive the streets if you only fought fair. Also, their physiques had changed. Duo had grown to be a bit taller and heavier – and fully determined to prove himself to the other. He was equally resolved to defeat the Wing pilot fair and square, though.

As soon as their teacher gave them green light, most pairings immediately went at each other - not so 01 and 02 who started circling each other warily.

Before they even started, there was a loud snap and a shrill yell, and everyone stopped to look at Casey McCauldron who was lying on the floor, cradling his arm that seemed oddly crooked. Later, Harry would feel ashamed of himself, but his first thought was not on the boy's well-being, but on the Quidditch tournament that was to start the day after – and Gryffindor not having a Seeker. Damn, now they would have to use Torben in that position, after all.

Meanwhile, Lupin had helped the boy up and was escorting him to the hospital wing – it was quite clear this arm was broken. Once the door had closed behind them, Mrs Harris clapped into her hands to get their attention and told them to try again, things like that happened when you did not use the right falling technique, it wasn't that bad and anyway, they still had some time to go... Nevertheless, her speech did nothing to encourage the more faint-hearted among the students, so the ensuing practice fights were far less vigorous than before.

That, however, was not true for a certain corner of the room where two sparring partners had somehow gotten their hands on two _bokken_ (wooden swords) and were entering into a dangerous confrontation. One by one, the other pairings stopped to watch on with fascination.

Duo sent a hailstorm of whacks towards the other boy who, with inexplicable speed, managed to ward of every blow, just when everyone thought he would be hit. Still, Duo's assault was not carried out with sheer force alone, but also with a finesse that had the whole audience hold their breath.

While Duo was attacking with vehemence, putting all his frustrations into his blows, his opponent remained on the defense. Almost unawares, Heero was pulling the Perfect Soldiers reins – he did not want to hurt Duo despite everything, but at the same time he was not willing to lose, either. However, after another collision of their weapons that sent the vibrations straight into his arms, the stoic boy registered that his body was not quite up to par. His broken wrist might have been healed by Poppy Pomfrey's potion, but it still was vulnerable. He would have to end this fight soon, before someone, most of all Duo, recognized this weak spot. For a fleeting moment, the boy within the Perfect Soldier considered losing on purpose. _Maybe things would be alright again if he let the other win?_ But the Perfect Soldier would never accept defeat as an option and quickly silenced the little inner voice.

Duo, on the other hand, unconsciously noticed that the other did not attack and discarded his own defenses in favour of a relentless offensive, but still his opponent managed to block everything he threw at him.

Quatre observed them with great interest. Maybe it would do Duo some good to blow off steam. At the same time he, unlike the two fighters, was very well aware, that the messy-haired boy was not really fighting back, so maybe, just maybe this was still the Heero they had come to know as a friend...

He exchanged a meaningful look with Trowa - they definitely would have to talk to the silent boy, before they lost him for good. The blonde was certain that the Perfect Soldier from back when would not have allowed for someone to threaten him like Duo did just now. Actually, Duo gave him a reason to worry, if he wasn't careful, he was going overstep the lines...

The other onlookers were simply in awe. They had never seen anything like this. The swiftness of the moves, the loud cracks as the weapons connected. Most of them were flabbergasted at how the somewhat smaller kid could hold himself against those powerful blows coming from the braided boy, and they were all expecting him to lose any time now – Duo wasn't even giving him an opening to go on the offensive himself, or so they thought, since there were only few who could actually appreciate the full skill behind every shielding move.

Tonks was wondering whether they could allow this to go on. It almost looked as if they would be fighting to the bitter end – she was truly worried one or both of them might get hurt, but a look to Mrs Harris told her that the more seasoned teacher felt not inclined to interrupt. And Mad-Eye Moody? He was simply enjoying the show, so she was willing to wait just a little longer before she would break things up.

Wufei was strangely pleased to see Heero pulled down from his high horse, yet at the same time he felt bad for thinking that way. He could not quite understand himself anymore. Still, he was definitely rooting for Duo here. Yuy deserved whatever he got, didn't he...

In the meantime Duo had started fuming. _What was Heero thinking – was he only playing with him? Did he think he couldn't beat him? He would show him, Heero was going down..._

It felt so incredibly good to vent his anger like this, that Duo did not even feel his control slip. He really had no intention of hurting Heero, simply wanting to put him in his proper place, but the more wrapped up Duo got into the fight, the more the lines blurred... And suddenly he wasn't fighting his old buddy anymore, but all those faceless opponents who had threatened him in the past and were haunting him still...

_Another lunge – parried. A feint – blocked. A twist, a turn, a blow – warded off. One step forward, one step to the side. Another thrust – deflected. Another feint – countered. A kick – avoided... _

As Yuy side-stepped another attack, Harry finally grasped the thought that had been lingering in the back of his mind from the start of this display. Those two were incredible fighters – even someone not so acquainted with hand-to-hand combat as he could only admire the smooth motions and the ease with which they seemed to adapt to each other – and he would be damned if they did not know each other's moves inside out. Also, he was beginning to suspect that their skills did not stem from your regular weekly afternoon training. And that would explain a lot...

Meanwhile a certain group among the audience were getting slightly agitated since they, unlike Harry, knew that the two fighters were as a matter of fact not following some kind of choreography, and discerned that Duo was once more stepping things up a notch. They trusted Heero to be able to withstand Duo's attacks and so far Duo did not look to be in danger, still, this fight could hardly be called a sparring match anymore and that did not bode well. Accidents happened, and they did not want to see either of them hurt. Besides, they could do well without any suspicions arising from such a display of superior skill.

A few minutes later, Trowa was growing more and more uneasy. The fight had gradually become far too serious and there was an expression in the braided boy's eyes he did not like at all. It was as if Duo wasn't even really there, or at least as if he did not see who he was fighting anymore... It was almost scary. When Trowa looked at Heero, though, he found even more cause for concern. He would have to be gravely mistaken if Heero wasn't favoring his right hand. _Hadn't he done so before, only this week?_ Overall, Heero wasn't at his best physically, that much had been clear once they had laid eyes on him again after all this time. Trowa's guilty conscience reprimanded him for how often he had procrastinated talking with the other boy due to reasons he could not even recall right now. It was high time to remedy this situation, he would do so directly after the end of the fight...

Hermione held Harry's hand in a death grip. She barely dared to breathe at what she saw. It was incredible how something so lethal could be so beautiful. The two fighters seemed to be caught up in a deadly dance, in a literal sense. She only prayed to whatever higher being there might be that nothing happened to those two...

Duo was fighting in a haze, not registering the sweat running down his body, nor the heaviness in his arms. He would take his adversary down, no matter what. Those idiots deserved what they got...

_Go for it, Shinigami. Advance. Take this, asshole. A slash through the air – missed. Clash. You're going down. Forward and to the side. Thrust, kick – no hit. Damn, that guy was good, but he would not get the better of him. I'll get you, you bastard. Eat this... _

Meanwhile, Remus Lupin had delivered a bawling Casey to the hospital wing and with an ominous feeling hurried back to the Muggle Studies classroom. As he opened the door, he was surprised to find the students cluttered around one corner of the room, apart from some kind of wooden clanks there was silence, the foreboding kind. Once he fought his way through the crowd, his curiosity turned into apprehension. Not few of the students flinched when the usually soft-spoken teacher bellowed: "Stop this! Stop this at once!"

Taking a step back, Heero lowered his weapon, assuming Duo would do so as well. Time seemed to slow, as the horrified onlookers realized that the braided boy had not reacted to the call. Many clenched their eyes shut, while Lupin could only keep watching helplessly as Duo's weapon came down towards Heero's neck. It was a blow that was aimed to kill, even though most of the witnesses did not realize that. They did grasp, however, that this hit would be fatal. Transfixed as they were, everything seemed to pass in slow-motion, until suddenly Heero's right hand shot up and grabbed the _bokken_ right before it landed on its target. Once more during this lesson, there was a loud crack that echoed through the room and brought everyone out of their daze. It was this sound that finally snapped Duo out of it, he blinked to shake off the haze and was appalled to see something flicker in his opponent's eyes. But that was... _Heero!... Was that pain?_ Before he could decipher it, it was gone.

The two fighters remained motionless for a few seconds in which Heero's cold unfathomable gaze never left Duo's eyes, before he slowly let go of the other's weapon and lowered his hand without any indication of what had happened.

Duo felt an awful rush of remorse and opened his mouth: "I..."

Before he could start to apologize, his girlfriend had gripped his arm and was talking at him in an unusually animated way: "I didn't have the slightest idea what you had in you..."

His new friends joined in shortly afterwards. Duo could only stare silently as Heero was slipping away from him once more.

The tension left the room and the students started commenting the lesson while filing out. Although all of them had been startled by that snapping noise, the lack of reaction on Yuy's part assured them it had only been the sound of wood on skin that caused it. But what a spectacle it had been...

Remus Lupin was not so easily fooled. It was exactly what he had wanted to prevent and look what he had achieved... Feeling guilty, he grabbed the blue-eyed boy's upper arm and pulled him along. "_You_ are coming with me. Madam Pomfrey is going to have a look at you..." Luckily for him, the Perfect Soldier did not perceive the werewolf as a threat and, due to the pain he was experiencing, he was much more willing than usual to have another sip of that wonderful healing potion that would restore him a lot quicker than his natural healing abilities could. That stuff was remarkably useful...

Before the other ex-pilots knew it, their fifth companion had left the stage.

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Sally had just finished treating the McCauldron boy under the watchful eyes of the head nurse, when the door to the hospital ward was opened rather forcefully and Remus Lupin, a hand on a familiar boy's shoulder, shoved said kid into the room. There was an exasperated sigh, then she heard Poppy groan: "Not you again... What is it this time?"

At first the young Muggle doctor thought this was aimed at the teacher who had brought in the other boy, however, she was quick to realize that Poppy was talking to Heero, who reluctantly presented his hand to the nurse. The difference to their former patient was strikingly obvious, and for some reason Sally felt sad. When Poppy announced that several bones in that hand were broken ("again"), Heero had yet to show a reaction. While Casey had bawled his eyes out, the Wing pilot had not even cradled his hand. It was disturbing to think about what had made the boy so unconcerned for his own health and so unresponsive to his body's aches and needs. Looking closer, she could detect that familiar steely glint in the boy's eyes that had not been there the night she arrived, if she thought about it...

Curious, she asked: "What happened?"

As the question was directed at the accompanying teacher, it was even more surprising than usual to hear Heero's clipped answer: "Duo."

Sally was struck dumb at this vague revelation. What could have possessed Duo...? And why had Heero let things get so out of hand to come out wounded? She was completely at a loss, when Professor Lupin asked her curiously: "You know each other?"

"Uh, somewhat..." Damn, he had caught her on the wrong foot, his elegantly raised eyebrow told her he'd be on her case now, to find out more... Then again, Heero seemed to trust that man as far as she could see, so maybe she could interrogate him in return, to find out more herself. She had the feeling she was missing a lot here...

Meanwhile, Poppy had finished with Heero who was as good as new, though once more his hand would need a little time to be as strong as usual. He gave a very quiet thanks and was gone before Sally could have another word with him.

When the DADA teacher had left as well, Sally wasted no time in questioning the head nurse as to her reaction to the boy's entrance. What she learned in the strictest confidence made her stomach churn...

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While the Gryffindor common room was buzzing with exited talk about the day's events and more and more frequently about the tournament starting the next day, Harry had gone off to the hospital wing to inquire after his Seeker, only to be told that Casey was banned from playing, the risk for his arm being too high and he was suffering from a slight shock. Thoughtfully, Harry returned to his house and called in a last minute training with his team to make sure their replacement Seeker would know what to do. Yet, the more he saw of poor Torben's abilities, the more frustrated he became, so he let them off rather early, hoping for a miracle. Otherwise, Gryffindor was in for a disaster and he so did not want to see the image of Malfoy's sneering face for real which his mind kept replaying.

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Shortly after Harry had left for the Quidditch pitch, a huge dog was running through the corridors in direction of the portrait of the Fat Lady. After that talk with Remus concerning what had happened behind the veil, he had felt so relieved that he was no longer alone with this burden. Even though there wasn't much they could do, Sirius was just glad he could open up to his lover without breaking the promise he had given and thus, he had almost forgotten about his 'appointment' for this evening as well as the fact that he wanted to borrow Harry's Invisibility Cloak. As much as he loved his animagus form, sometimes it simply was so much easier to move about as human. Luckily, just as he arrived at the entrance to Gryffindor house, a first- or second-year girl just came out, so he could immediately slip in.

Hermione was more than a little surprised to see 'Snuffles' in the Gryffindor common room and then rush up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. Smelling something fishy here, Hermione excused herself from the Patil twins (the rest of her friends being out in the grounds to witness Harry's last minute efforts with the Seeker-to-be). Dashing up the stairs to her own dorm she quickly grabbed a few of those "useful" things she had confiscated from the twins and hurried back down to see the animagus wait at the door for someone to open it. No-one really took notice of him, so Hermione was the only one to recognize the object hanging from the dog's snout. She knew it, something was up – if only she could use the Marauder's map... but no, someone just entered Gryffindor house, giving Sirius the opportunity to slip out. Oh well, she would just have to go after him...

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Sally did not really know her way around the castle yet and she had no idea how to find the former Gundam pilots. She did have an idea, however, where she might find at least one of them, so she asked some of the students passing her for directions to the library. And indeed, she was lucky.

Sitting alone, completely focused on the book in his hands, there was Wufei. She could see, however, that his eyes were not moving – he was staring rather blankly ahead. Obviously something was bothering him and she had a pretty good idea what it was, or at least that there was a connection to what had happened before.

"Hey," she greeted him softly, as she took a seat at his table.

"Sally," he seemed surprised, but happy to see her. "How are you?"

"_I_ am fine...," she answered with a meaningful emphasis. "But something is wrong with Heero."

Wufei's expression closed up immediately. "Is that so?"

Sally could see something was eating him up, even though he would not want to admit it, so she prepared for a tenacious talk with the stubborn pilot. If she was not mistaken he felt guilty for something, although she could only guess as to what. Nevertheless, the young healer would not allow the schism between the pilots to grow any deeper. Strong as they were, those kids were perfectly equipped to survive on their own, yet they needed each other to be truly content. Carefully choosing her words, she managed to get to the bottom of the situation – it appalled her how one little thing could lead to another... Still, despite his proud bearing, Sally could detect the remorse inside the former Shenlong pilot, therefore she resisted the urge to throttle the headstrong Chinese and told him in quiet words:

"I won't tell you what to do, Wufei. You know that quite well yourself. It's a pity I'm not allowed to disclose medical details to you, because that would actually open your eyes...

However, let me tell you one thing..." She leaned forward looking him straight into the eyes and continued: "Did it ever occur to you that Heero might not have gone missing by choice?"

Sally was almost tempted to laugh at the fleeting changes in the other's expression.

Indeed, the thought had crossed Wufei's mind once or twice, but was dismissed pretty soon. So if he understood correctly, Sally was implying... But nothing could stop Yuy once he set his mind on something, right? To be honest, the other had looked a bit on the thin and pale side that first night... Damn, he hated injustice – and apparently now he was the one who had handed it out...

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Meanwhile, Hermione had a hard time following Harry's godfather in his haste, but she at least managed to follow him to the dungeons and once she had lost him in some dark corner there, it was not hard for her to figure out where he was heading. The question remained why, however. She was positive he'd be trying to get the better of Snape once more, so she carefully edged her way towards the corner behind which Snape's classroom and office lay.

Hermione was in for a surprise, however, when she saw Sirius in his human form knock on the door and Snape opening it, urging the other inside while snarling something that sounded suspiciously like "put that bloody thing on before the damned kid arrives...". Things became a little clearer when, after a few minutes, she noticed a familiar figure approaching from the opposite corner. The girl quickly drew her head back. _Of course, the detention_... She waited for the sound of the opening and closing door, then she sneaked forward and cast the ever so useful Expendable Ears (she would thank the twins later – or maybe not). Hidden again securely in the shadows, she was listening breathlessly to what was going on inside Snape's sanctuary...

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At the same time, Harry called off the training and the players withdrew to the team's change room. Not quite ready to face the crowd yet, Harry lagged behind the others a bit. He had run out of encouraging words for Torben... Well, he let out a deep sigh, maybe he should give Hermione's attitude a try – it was only a game, after all.

Duo noticed the peculiar mood their team leader was in. He and the present gang exchanged knowing glances and purposefully took their time changing which gave the other members of their team the opportunity to leave ahead of them. Once, they were alone, Duo and Quatre took it upon themselves to cheer their messy-haired, green-eyed friend up. That did not seem to work quite well. Harry did get distracted, though, when, for the first time, he really noticed the multitude of scars his new friends bore while they were changing. It was actually an eye-opener, so he 'popped' the question.

The former Gundam pilots were a little shocked when out of the blue Harry asked them whether they had fought in the war. Yet they knew there was no denying it, therefore they shortly conversed through their eyes, before affirming rather evasively. They need not have worried, however, Harry was far from suspecting their true involvement and he wasn't one to dig too deeply when it was obvious the persons concerned did not want to talk about a certain topic.

Still, what he had learnt would plague his mind a bit longer, and when he was lying in bed that night, the thought crossed his mind that he could be glad he only had that one scar to remind him of past pains, troublesome as it sometimes was.

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TBC

**AN: **_That's it for now. No promises for the next update, though I'm hopeful it won't take me another five months ;-). See you around._

_Thanks for reading and, as you know, feedback is always appreciated._

03/23/06


	20. Plan B

**Hogwarts AC 196**

_**AN:**_

_Hey there. Another long wait, but then – this chapter is actually twice as long as longest one so far (though it might have ended up a little long-winded, too), so I hope I'm excused. _

_To Skarlet Red: Well, I did explain that the newbies were divided into two age groups for the first three weeks of catching-up lessons, which are actually ending in this chapter. Therefore, Wufei is still attending the same classes as the others while they are accompanied by random years of random houses (to keep those occupied during the start of term). I can understand the confusion about him appearing in the Gryffindor common room, though he actually doesn't. Those instances that I believe puzzled you were supposed to take place in the Great Hall after dinner, since I did fail to mention that explicitly, however, you could easily be led to think it was the common room, so I'll fix that when (if?) I ever get to revise the whole thing._

_To Akua: One sentence in here belongs completely to you - you'll know which one..._

_Thanks for all the lovely reviews. _

_And here we go again, hope you enjoy..._

**Chapter 20**: Plan B

While Sirius, Snape, Hermione and of course Heero himself were about to witness a somewhat different detention, Remus Lupin was balancing a stack of books from the library to his rooms. Dumbledore had asked him to have another look at the incident in the Forbidden Forest and after having examined the place where the scorched bodies had been found, he had a very definite idea of what might have happened, although he just needed a little more research. Also, he wanted to find out more about the Realm of the Waiting, after he had finally talked with Sirius about his haunting experience. He would not give up on their friends, now that he knew there was still hope. At the same time he was not willing to endanger their existence, as feeble as it might be right now. And if he had learnt anything through the years, it was that life was a fragile thing.

At that moment, he dropped one of the larger tomes. Great, where was Sirius when you needed him. His lover had mumbled something about some 'detention' (which an absent-minded Remus found quite puzzling since, while he probably still held the school record, Sirius was beyond the reach of any teacher giving out detentions) and vanished to Merlin knew where. Probably was cooking something up, too. Just as he was about to go into contortions to grasp the fallen book, someone picked it up for him. It was Wufei Chang – just one of the persons he wanted to have a word with anyway.

"Thank you," he said in his typical polite manner. "Would you mind carrying a part of that pile to my room?"

The Asian boy just shrugged and relieved his teacher of some of his load. They went on in silence, Wufei's thoughts still lingering on what Sally had told him, while the teacher wondered how to approach the topic on his mind, contemplating the events earlier that day.

_Dragging his reluctant, but for once yielding charge to the school's nurses, he finally asked the question that had been nagging him for a long time now. And he was quite blunt about it._

"_Would you care to explain what was going on there. Why is Duo Maxwell so angry that he would accept to injure you severely? Why do your friends shun you? I believed they were your friends." He glared at Heero, but instantly regretted his harsh tone when the boy instantly withdrew into himself and removed his upper arm from his teacher's grasp._

"_They are." The soft answer almost took the wind out of Remus' sails._

"_What? Then why are they treating you that way?"_

_Silence._

"_Do you even know?"_

"_Listen, it's not their fault. I did something..."_

"_What could merit almost three weeks of being cut dead?" Remus did not get it. Sure, he had once given Sirius the cold shoulder for weeks, but he had had an exceptional and very valid reason to do so. The werewolf could not imagine the same to be true here. So he was not surprised to hear the barely audible response._

"_I don't know."_

"_But it _is _your fault..." Remus tone was almost sarcastic._

_After a pause that lasted until they had nearly reached the hospital ward, the boy said in a low, but firm voice: "They would not act like this without a very good reason."_

_The werewolf was so perplexed at this remark, he stopped asking further questions._

That did not mean, however, Remus would not ask other people the necessary questions to get to the bottom of this situation. Once they reached his rooms, he asked Wufei in and immediately got to the point, when the boy placed the books on his desk.

"Actually I wanted to talk to you anyway, Wufei." The boy looked him unflinchingly in the eyes with a look that was clearly a request to go on.

"I take it you are one to value honour and justice highly..."

Considering his conversation with Sally Po only a short while before, Wufei felt a bit uneasy and wondered where this talk was going, but he answered truthfully. "I do."

"Then would you care to explain the way you and your friends are treating Heero? In my view, you are clearly punishing him for something." He paused to see a reaction, but Wufei did not show what was going on in his head. "You found him guilty and passed judgement on him. Heero, however, does not even know what mistake on his part led to this situation. Now where's the justice in that?"

Now Wufei was obviously slightly rattled. After a short pause, he asked slowly: "You are trying to tell me he truly doesn't know what's wrong? And how would you know?"

"I simply asked him after that impressive fight today. So please enlighten me."

Wufei sighed. Why would Sally not tell him anything he could work with? What could have stopped the unstoppable Perfect Soldier? What did Professor Lupin know? And why on earth could Heero not just explain... The Chinese boy straightened up.

"With all due respect, I don't believe this is any of your business, but I assure you I'll take care of the matter." And with that he left, wondering again whether they (and he in particular) had made a grave mistake and, if so, how to remedy it.

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As to be expected, Heero Yuy did not look forward to having detention. Still, orders were orders, so he unwillingly knocked on the door of the Potions classroom. The door opened and revealed a complacent-looking Snape sitting at his desk, while flames danced merrily beneath his cauldron, throwing oddly shaped shadows on the walls.

"Come on in. Sit down there." Snape motioned to a chair opposite his desk.

As Heero took the indicated seat, the teacher rose to his full height and glared the boy down threateningly (even the invisible Sirius had to grudgingly admit he did a god job at looking imposing, though what the boy thought of it, he could not tell).

"You know what you're here for. Have you got anything to say for yourself?"

Heero did not bother to answer and stared back unflinchingly. _Great, did this have to turn into an interrogation? Couldn't the guy just give him a task to do and be done with? _And what was this strange tingling feeling in the back of his neck – like someone was watching him...

"I know you did not do it. At least not on your own. Now give me the names of the culprits..."

At that moment, the fire in the fireplace flared up, making Snape turn to stir his simmering concoction, before he looked his 'prey' up and down again.

"I see, you're obstinate. Fine, be like that." Snape was actually enjoying this and found his acting skills quite convincing. Suddenly there was a cup standing in front of the boy who eyed it suspiciously. "Drink this."

Naturally, the wary Wing pilot did not trust this development at all and made no move to comply – instead, he made to voice the question what this had to do with anything.

"I don't..."

"Drink." Snape interrupted the boy impatiently, his wand already raised menacingly. Heero quickly considered his options. Oh well, if this was poison, he could be quite hopeful he was immune to it due to J's experiments. Moreover, Snape would have a lot of explaining to do if anything happened to him, since everyone knew he was supposed to have detention.

All alternatives considered, he took a very small sip of the inconspicuously smelling liquid under the watchful eyes of his teacher which made it impossible to just pretend. It did taste like tea... What was going on here? Satisfied that the boy really had swallowed some of the tea, Snape leaned back.

"So," to Heero's ears that single word out of the Potion master's mouth sounded rather ominous, implying loads of trouble. "Let's start this easily," Snape said in an almost smug manner and very sure of himself. "What's your name?"

Heero was perplexed... Now what kind of game was Snape playing? Was he really trying to sound him out? Maybe it wasn't poison but some kind of truth potion he should worry about? If it was, Heero had yet to feel compelled to disclose any information at all.

"After three weeks of classes I'd expect you know."

Snape's eyes narrowed. "Have another drink."

Heero smirked inwardly. If he had not been sure before, he certainly was now. How obvious could it get? Yet he still did not know why Snape was playing out this charade. When he was once more confronted with a wand pointed right between his eyes, he gave in. Might as well try to find out what this was all about.

Sirius hidden in his corner couldn't help noticing that Snape did not seem too happy with the way things were developing – not that he ever really looked happy. There was a palpable tension in this room and he wished there was something he could do. Snape had told him he had added Veritaserum, the strongest of truth potions, to the tea – usually a small sip of it made hardened wizards spill everything and still it did not seem to affect that kid. If he did not know old Snivellus well enough to see that he was clueless as to why it did not work, he would have believed the greaseball had tried to fool him. Then again, this only went to show that something was definitely fishy with that boy.

"Tell me, where are you actually from?" Snape tried another approach in a rather conversational tone, after Heero had taken yet another sample of the adulterated tea.

"I'm sure you have that on file somewhere."

While to the others present, the answering voice sounded almost condescendingly cool, the person it belonged to felt anything but. Heero would have liked to tell himself, that nothing was wrong, but, despite his evasive answer, he realized he could no longer be certain about the outcome of this struggle of wills. There was something off with him, though he could not quite pinpoint it. His body did just not feel quite right, at the same time incredibly heavy and airy, if that made any sense. Heero only hoped Snape would give up before things could take a turn for the worse. Otherwise, he thought wryly, he could always bite off his tongue...

"You know," Snape hissed as he walked to his fireplace where the cauldron was filled with a relatively small amount of some transparent liquid. "I won't let you go before I have received some answers."

Heero felt uncharacteristically inclined to not let that go unanswered, though his voice remained in his usual monotone. "You have a strange concept of detention."

Snape only glared and stoked the fire which, in the few minutes he had left it unattended, had been reduced to glowing embers.

Getting rather unnerved with the kid, Snape filled the cup again, this time not even trying to disguise its contents as tea. He placed it in front of his unwilling 'guest' and they stared at each other for a long moment, before a narrowing of the teacher's eyes told Heero he'd better not overdo it. Reluctantly he took another small sip, only swallowing when he realized that he still couldn't get away with pretending. He was beginning to feel a little woozy, but kept enough control to act unaffected.

Again Snape spoke up: "Why are you here?"

"I'm supposed to learn magic."

"Why are you really here?" Snape leant in threateningly and Sirius could barely restrain himself from throttling that irritating boy.

The slight wooziness was making way for a disturbing dizziness and Heero felt strangely detached from his own body, but what worried him most was that he actually felt an urge to reply. He came to the decision that it wouldn't hurt to answer that one, just not quite the way Snape hoped for: "Professor Lupin brought me here." _Strange how his voice came out normal when he felt like he had a huge ball of cotton between his teeth_.

Snape's fist connected loudly with the table as he hissed: "We know that – what is your true motive?"

With a lot of effort the boy kept his tongue in check, though it seemed to develop a mind of its own and felt somewhat like a foreign object in his own mouth. Nevertheless, it finally seemed to dawn on the Potions Master that his concoction was taking effect, after all. He leaned back and smirked: "Have another drink, won't you?" He watched with a hawk-like expression as the boy did what he was told.

"I ask you again, who are you?"

No answer. Snape really could not believe it – nobody could resist a truth potion – least of all Veritaserum – for that long. He was fuming and fired away question after question.

"Where are you from?"

"L1." _Hey, had he wanted to answer that one? Thinking back on his conversation with Lupin, he was definitely talking too much today..._

"How old are you?"

"I don't know." The alarm bells in Heero's head started ringing, he definitely had not intended to say any of that, but clenching his numb jaws shut had not worked any longer.

"Is Heero Yuy your real name?"

"No."

Right, he had let this get too far. It was high time to take the game into his own hands before he revealed something he really would regret. Despite the fogginess that was threatening to overwhelm his mind, Heero still managed to swiftly analyse his options for a possible way out. _What did he know about this kind of potion? What could he possibly do..._

"Then what's your..." Snape never finished his question as he noticed the other had suddenly slumped in his seat. Heero's head was beginning to loll to the side and he seemed to be fighting to keep his eyes open, while in reality he was fighting to remain in control of his own actions – which seemed harder than it ever did before. Snape grabbed him by the front of his robe and shook him.

"What's your real name, dammit?"

There was only a soft breath: "I have no idea..."

Then the boy's breathing evened out and he hung spinelessly on the chair, kept upright only by Snape's grip. The teacher shook him again, almost frantically, before he searched for his pulse.

"Asleep..." Snape muttered in disgust, as the slow, but steady beat assured him he had not killed his student.

Suddenly, a bodiless voice sounded: "What's going on?"

"Never in my life..." Snape voice was barely more than a whisper as he ran a hand through his hair.

"What happened?" the second voice now asked more forcefully and at the same time Sirius head was floating in the air since he had removed the Invisibility Cloak's hood.

"Overdosed."

"What! But... uh, he's not going to..."

"No, he's simply unconscious."

"I thought this potion was fail-safe."

"So did I, Black. So did I... Stronger men have succumbed to Veritaserum after the first sip from a mixture that held only a fraction of what his first cup contained... This is unheard of... No wonder he suffered from an overdose..."

"So what now?"

"We should get him to his dorm. Or rather you should, Black. After all..."

"If you know what's good for you, you're not going to say this is my fault."

"I was going to say that, after all, he is a _Gryffindor_. And you're the one with the Invisibility Cloak here. Shouldn't be too hard for you..." Snape virtually hissed.

"Shouldn't we modify his memory first?"

"All things considered, I don't think he'll remember much of anything anyway..."

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Outside in the hallway, Hermione could not believe her ears. At first, she had only been confused, then, as soon as she realized what was going on, shocked that Sirius and Snape could do such an outrageous thing. Now, she did not even feel the tears running down her cheeks.

The others had been right. The two men behind that door might not be satisfied with the outcome of their interrogation, but Hermione had heard enough. The boy she knew as Heero Yuy was a liar and most probably the spy. How could she have questioned Harry's godfather and their teacher – of course, they needed to have a good reason for something like that. Moreover, Sirius would never cooperate with Snape unless he had a very strong suspicion.

Still, she felt simply awful, disappointed, betrayed,... she could not even begin to describe the feeling as she rushed ahead toward the Gryffindor tower to inconspicuously make sure Sirius didn't have any trouble in returning the boy. She really needed to start trusting the people more who she knew without a single doubt were worthy of it. Although she would not let Sirius know that she had doubted him.

Hermione was lucky, so she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady without incident. It was certainly helpful that, due to the late hour and the anticipation of the next day's events, the common room was already deserted. So she waited in the open frame, until she heard a shuffling noise in the corridor that sounded exactly like someone was carrying something unwieldy, like an unconscious teenage boy, for example. She took a breath, resolutely stepped out of the portrait hole and pretended to suddenly listen to a sound. "Lumos. Who's there?"

Immediately a familiar voice grumbled. "Hermione, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, it's you. I just wanted to have a chat with the house elves... What are you doing with Harry's cloak?"

"None of your damned business." The words were gruff, but the tone was caring, then there was a sound like he was shifting something in his arms. "Go back to bed, I almost ran into Filch on the stairs..." Good thing, that Sirius would never question her reasons for being there, prankster that he had been in his school days.

"Oh, okay. Goodnight then." She turned towards the girl's dormitories as she heard Sirius move up the stairs to the boy's room.

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Heero tensed as he heard those voices talk about messing with his memory, yet luckily they dismissed the thought. Who was the second man, anyway? He did not recognize the voice. Yet, as he uneasily allowed the invisible guy to lift him up and throw him over his shoulder, his nose caught a smell that was somewhat familiar. However, in his muddled state he could not tell what it was. He had caught the name Black. He had heard that before, he was sure, then again, it wasn't an unusual name, was it?

Heero did not trust this Black guy to actually get him to his dorm, but he did not have much of a choice. He tried to remain alert, but when he realized that the strong grip holding him in place was not going to drop him and the effects of the potion caught up with him, he could not help drifting off for real, despite the awkward position he was in.

That was, until he heard a voice call out in the corridor near the entrance to Gryffindor tower. He barely managed to keep himself from jerking awake, instead he remained limp and wondered if Black had actually managed to hide him under the cloak as well.

Then it struck his fuzzy mind, that the voice had been Hermione's – what was she doing up and about? Keeping his eyes shut, he listened. The girl obviously knew the man, so what the hell was really happening here? Did she have a part in this as well? Despite his Perfect Soldier side being ever suspicious, Heero did not want to believe it. And indeed, it seemed she had no idea... Still, she was sounding strange, different... strained? As if she were nervous? What the... For the umpteenth time that night Heero Yuy wondered what was going on in this strange place.

He felt an unusual glee (quickly attributed to the influence of Snape's potion) at hearing the man breathing hard due to the extra weight he had to carry up the stairs and allowed himself a small relieved sigh as he was unceremoniously dumped on his bed. The whole room remained silent. He waited with bated breath, however, as suddenly the tall shadow of a man appeared close to Harry's bed.

Heero was ready to attack when the shaggy-haired man reached out a hand towards the boy, but relaxed as he saw the guy only brushing a lock of hair out of the green-eyed boy's face in an affectionate gesture. After a few more seconds the intruder left. Well, apparently that man was on Harry's side, which strangely, but inevitably meant his own, as well.

That at least was a relief, though it did not take away the bizarreness of the events of the night. All in all, the Perfect Soldier thought it had been a close call, and he would have to be more alert from now on. In this unfamiliar world, he did not really know his enemies, nor the way they fought.

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When Hermione got up the next morning, Hilde quickly caught on to her sombre mood. Eyeing the other girl as she struggled with her sheets, her clothes and everything that fell in her hands, the colonial girl couldn't help but ask if everything was alright with her. She could not be that nervous about the Quidditch tournament which, according to her own words, did not even interest her that much.

Getting a grip of herself, Hermione's thoughts were warring. Should she confide in the other girl? After a short period of silence, she finally blurted out: "Did you know that Heero's name isn't really Heero Yuy?"

Hilde stilled, then looked at Hermione musingly. "What gives you the idea?"

"Just answer my question, will you?" Hermione was apparently having a bad day and rather impatient. Hilde noticed her obvious distress and tried to console the other.

"Oh, Hermione… Of course it's his name, just as Duo and Trowa are Duo's and Trowa's names. You have no idea how many kids there are in the colonies who have no families and live on the streets. And many of them don't even remember their name, or they choose to take another. Duo's a street rat who took on a name he liked and probably doesn't remember his real one, Trowa suffered from amnesia and his real name is probably Triton, but I don't know for sure. And Heero was given his name by… the man who…uh, took him in… You really don't need to beat yourself up about that." Hilde could see that Hermione was rather taken aback by that revelation.

"Oh..." She did not say anything else, but the tomboyish girl was certain that her doubts were laid to rest for the time being, as the two of them went to have breakfast together. And her own thoughts were too focused on what lay ahead to really bother thinking about how the other girl had gained her knowledge.

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In the Great Hall, the air was filled with excitement. Few students really thought about the fact, that the newbies would be sorted into their correct years this weekend, but hardly anyone remained unaffected by the prospect of the Quidditch tournament that was to start shortly after lunch. None, however, was as much affected as a certain Gryffindor student who was all jittery, even before breakfast. Sitting at the table in the Great Hall, though, all the nervous energy seemed to leave the designated Seeker and after only a few bites of his morning meal, he lost his appetite altogether. Moreover, Torben Binsterbottle suddenly considered it a sensible idea to hurry out. Indeed, he only barely made it to the wash-room, hurling out whatever he had inside.

Two hours later, the poor boy had yet to emerge again, despite the constant coaxing and pleading of his team mates – he was close to tears, since he just could not seem to stop dry-heaving.

The whole team (apart from Hilde who could only just be prevented from walking into the boys' room) was assembled in front of the toilet stall occupied by their unfortunate Seeker. By now feeling slightly nauseous himself, Harry finally straightened up.

"I guess that's it. I'm going to tell Madam Hooch that the Gryffindor team is withdrawing."

"Oh man, you can't do that to us," Duo whined with an angry rap on the stall's door.

"Duo, I don't see any other choice, either," Quatre tried to calm his upset friend. Among the lot of them, Duo had been looking forward to the matches most. However, Trowa musingly shook his head.

"Did we really consider all the options?" he asked with the barest hint of a grin that had his comrades look puzzled at him. It was implied that the taller boy had an idea, just what it was still eluded the others.

"Guys, let's face it," Harry answered despondently, "there really were no alternatives during the try-outs..."

"Not during the try-outs, no... But with some people you just know..."

Duo's eyes did not leave Trowa's during these words and suddenly he knew what or rather who the other was talking about. A wide grin appeared, but just as quickly his face fell...

"Right... not. He wouldn't do it, not after yesterday... I mean, _I_ wouldn't do it if I were him and that's saying something."

"Oh, I'm sure you could convince him." Quatre had caught on, too. Harry's eyes, however, darted questioningly from one to the other.

"Me? Why me?"

"Because you're the only one who could pester him into doing it." Silence.

"Alright. Can't hurt to try. Much. Collect some money for my coffin if I'm not back by the time the matches start..." The braided boy squared his shoulders, took a deep breath and left. No-one could say he was a coward.

Harry stared after him, then asked the others. "Okay, what was that all about."

As they all hurried out of the bile-ridden air to encounter Hilde waiting right beside the door, Trowa answered enigmatically: "Let's call it plan B."

A little over an hour later (it wasn't an easy task, after all), the whole Gryffindor team had assembled in their team room with the addition of one not happy-looking Heero Yuy.

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Duo nearly roamed through the whole school in his search for Heero. Apparently the hardest task wasn't to persuade the guy to join their team, but to locate him. And what was worse, the chase gave the former Deathscythe pilot lots of time to think about how his comrade might react.

Damn, he had not even had the opportunity to apologize for what he had done in Muggle Studies the day before. He really hadn't intended to hurt Heero like that – yes, he knew very well that he had heard bones snap (though he still wondered how he had managed that) and that had finally made him realize he had been taking things to far. It wasn't as if he had been aiming at Heero in that crucial instant, but his reality never would have blurred like that, had he been able to just spar with the other boy for the fun of it, instead of taking it so seriously.

So what if Heero hadn't bothered to give a sign of life in months – it still smarted, but wasn't the important thing that the boy was always there when you really needed him. Inwardly, Duo hoped that this had not changed, because right now they needed him badly to be able to take part in that tournament...

Anyways, Duo felt a little stupid that it had taken him almost three weeks to come to his senses, but he would face it like a man and apologize. At least for the meaner things – it was still going to take a while until he could forgive wholeheartedly, but hey, nobody could say he was holding a grudge forever. But he would _not_ stop the little pranks on Heero's bed until the other apologized as well...

Finally he stumbled across the reticent boy in the last spot he had searched – of course, the roof.

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Luckily, Heero had not suffered any after-effects of his little Veritaserum experience and, unaffected by the expectant atmosphere in the school, he had skipped breakfast to try and find out more about this Black person in the library, which did actually not take very long, but only led to further questions. Apparently Sirius Black was notorious – the only man to have broken out of Azkaban where he had been incarcerated for the murder of Harry's parents and other people. So how come the guy had been so caring towards Harry and so friendly with Hermione? And what's more – why wasn't he dead? After all, he was supposed to have been killed in a fight at the Ministry of Magic. Also, he felt like he was overlooking something.

Then, when Heero came to a dead end in his musings on Black's identity and plans, he started to wonder why he and Snape had acted out last night's charade. How had Heero himself attracted their suspicions (provided they were indeed not acting on Voldemort's behalf)? Trying to sort out his thoughts, the Wing pilot visited his favourite spot on the roof again.

It was there, Duo found him. After shortly shuffling his feet when he caught sight of his rather unpredictable comrade in arms, the braided boy jumped right in, asking in a waterfall of words how his hand was, saying that he was sorry for hurting him, for using him as a scapegoat (how was detention anyway?) and for treating him so badly during the past weeks. Heero could only stare at him as the other kept going on without once taking a breath, until he got to the point: "You wouldn't mind playing Seeker for the Gryffindor team this weekend, would ya?" The Wing pilot felt slightly steamrollered at this and seeing no reaction, Duo pouted and pleaded with puppy eyes: "Please?"

Heero was flabbergasted. Duo actually wanted him on their team? At the same time he could not help noticing that, amidst the verbal flood, Duo did not once mention the incident that had started off their little cold war period at the start of the term – no explanation, no justification, nothing.

Still, while the little boy inside feared they were just using him for their own gain (like the tool he seemed to be destined to remain), the Perfect Soldier was pleased. Although he was a lone wolf who preferred to fight on his own, the game could only foster the team spirit in this war and they did need to work together if they wanted to achieve anything against an opponent like this Voldemort guy. And of course, on a subliminal level, they would be able to establish the house of Gryffindor as a force to reckon with.

In the end, however, the balance was tipped by the boy's desperate wish to be accepted by his friends again – and Duo was probably the only one who could talk Heero into self-delusion. So, after Duo went on and on how invincible they would be – a revival of the "Gundam boys" – the messy dark hair finally bobbed in a curt nod. Who was Heero to deny his friends their wish?

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Duo let out a huge sigh when Heero gave in – well, that had been a lot easier than he first thought. The other did not really seem convinced, but he had not decked him for what he had done and he had listened to his rant. Most importantly, Heero had agreed to take part in the tournament, what else could Duo ask for?

The former Deathscythe pilot couldn't completely quell the feeling of guilt, but at least he had achieved what he came for, and he was resolved to improve his (and the other's) relationship with Heero as they went. The shorter boy wasn't one to hold a grudge for long, was he? Usually, Heero outright threatened to kill you or immediately lashed out at the offender of the moment who then got off with some more or less hurtful bruises, but then that was it (unless he actually went through with his threat, but he only did that with people who really deserved it, didn't he?). So they were fine for now, weren't they?

For some reason Duo could not shake the feeling, that not all was well, but right now there were other things on his mind, as he approached the rest of his team mates, almost skipping to where they were lounging, with a goofy smile on his face and an unsmiling Heero in tow.

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Harry could not help noticing that their replacement seeker did not look like he actually wanted to be there in the team-room with them. He shortly wondered what the others had been thinking to suggest this boy, but he did not really have a choice, so he decided to trust them. After all, they had never given him a reason not to, so far. Still, he just needed to ask: "You do know how to fly, don't you? And your task and the general rules?"

His answer was a short nod respectively – then to everybody's surprise the boy did open his mouth: "I don't have a broom."

Quatre was squirming a little over in his corner, even though Heero had not even looked at him. The Winner heir had procured his fellow pilots new brooms (of course only the best of the best) once it had been clear they were going to be on the team (which also went for Wufei who played for the Ravenclaw team as Chaser), but that had not applied to the Wing pilot.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Harry reluctantly handed his own Firebolt over to the newly designated Seeker, not refraining from giving a few tips concerning the handling of his prized possession. Then it was already time for the players to change into their Gryffindor outfit. Once again, the Boy-who-lived was intrigued by the amount of scar tissue he saw on his new friends, which stood in stark contrast to the other team members. Harry realized that this was actually the first time he ever saw the Yuy boy change, but after witnessing what the boy had done to himself on the roof and considering he was at least an acquaintance to the others, he wondered whether that unblemished back he very shortly caught a glance of might not actually be hiding the same story as the others' scars.

With mixed feelings, the Gryffindor team captain led his players onto the Quidditch pitch where they were to face off against Ravenclaw. This would be interesting, though he could only hope he wasn't making a fool of himself. It wasn't helping his nervousness the least bit, when he heard Draco's voice that was clearly directed at him: "Really now, that Gryffindor team can't pose much of a threat to us. They may have a good keeper, but just look at their skinny Beaters – I wonder what Potter was thinking. And that must be their third choice Seeker... Phhh, I guess you have to be afraid he doesn't fall off the broom."

Strange enough, Draco suddenly shut up when a dark glare from the deep blue eyes of said Seeker was aimed in his direction. Instead Harry could now hear the comments of the Weasleys (all four of them) which, at least where the Seeker was concerned, were not much more favourable, after they got over their initial shock at seeing who it was. Meanwhile, Hermione remained strangely silent. Harry could not wait for the match to be over, but at that moment Madam Hooch only just blew the whistle to start the game and the latest commentator, a Slytherin seventh year, began doing his job.

At the same time Sally could not stop herself from asking Poppy Pomfrey whether it was wise to let Heero Yuy play after his injury from the day before, when they had taken the original Seeker out of the game for the same reason.

Poppy only muttered: "It's not like anyone asked me..."

Harry decided to ignore the taunts around him and concentrate on the match. The Ravenclaws were good, especially Wufei. As for the overall strength of the team, however, it was soon getting clear that Ravenclaw could not compare to his own side. The Gryffindors were playing very fast, Duo seemed unstoppable on his broom, zigzagging through his opponents as if they weren't there, pulling his fellow Chasers along. Hilde and Quatre almost knocked their opponents off their brooms with their Bludgers, while Ravenclaw hardly sent a threatening blow towards Gryffindor. Before they knew it, Duo had scored two goals with astonishingly precise throws of the Quaffle.

Meanwhile, Heero seemed to be hovering over the pitch as if he did not belong, or so Harry (and many others) thought, but as long as the Chasers, most of all Duo, kept it up like they did now, they would not even need the Snitch. After Trowa managed to block a sure goal from a Ravenclaw Chaser after a deadly pass from Wufei, the Boy-Who-Lived sneaked his Seeker another glance to see him almost leisurely float down towards the far end of the pitch, only to suddenly lean to the side, losing his grip with one hand. To the crowd it seemed like he was losing his balance and could barely manage to get the broom back under control. Harry wished the ground would open and swallow him, but the feeling got even worse, not a minute later.

Yuy pulled up next to the referee who immediately told him off. "Not now, get back into the game."

The score just turned to 50 to 20 in Gryffindor's favour. Harry hid his head in his hands, what was that guy doing now? Several insults, mostly from the oh so friendly Slytherin crowd, could be heard.

"I was under the impression the game ended once the Snitch was caught..." Heero was undeterred by Madam Hooch's reprimand and held out his hand, holding the winged ball in question.

For a second the referee just stared, while there were murmurs among the audience who could neither hear nor see what was going on, then the whistle came. There was a little confusion on all sides, before the Gryffindor crowd burst out in cheers. Some people were a little miffed because of the shortness of the match, but then the next one would start within the hour .

As the winning team landed back on the ground, a little crowd was gathering around them. Fred and George were almost rolling on the ground with laughter. "Did you see her face?" "I think that was the first time she ever missed the fact that someone caught the Snitch..." The same was true for themselves, but then that was a fact that could easily be neglected...

When Harry approached, Heero was just sidestepping Duo's attempts to give him a hug, while the braided boy was actually scolding him for ending his fun so soon and cheering at the same time.

"Didn't think you had it in you..." one of the other Chasers said, failing to give his unwilling Seeker a clap on the back.

Again the blue-eyed boy had taken a step to the side, only to have a strong hand land on his shoulder. Harry saw the boy whirl around and meet Trowa's calm gaze with a fiery one that turned impassive once he saw who it was. The keeper only nodded appreciatively, receiving a short nod in return, before the shorter boy shrugged off the hand and walked away from the crowd. It did not seem to offend the four colonials on the team which Harry knew a little better than the others, but there were differing voices, too.

"What's up with _him_?"

"Thinks he's something better now, or what?"

Before long, however, the assembled Gryffindors were simply celebrating. Ron approached his best friend: "I was doubting your judgement, but obviously you were right to nominate Yuy. Almost gave me a heart-attack, but you were right." Harry did not really know what to say to that, so he kept silent, his eyes following the odd boy.

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Meanwhile, Heero carried out a calculated retreat. He felt uncomfortable among the crowd and thought it better to withdraw, before he did something he would regret. That was still something he needed to work on. Yet, the fact that he had joined their team did not mean he had to let every single Gryffindor clap him on the back.

Even more so, considering the harsh words he had received at first. Despite everything other people thought and he himself pretended – he was not exactly immune to scorn and he did feel it stinging, but he would just try to ignore them and prove his worth, once again. Why was it that hearts always went flying out to people like Duo and Hilde, while he perpetually had to fight for every little bit of respect he got?

Carefully laying Harry's broom on the grass underneath a tree in the school grounds, he sat down and drew his knees to his chest, never noticing the watchful eyes of a huge black dog that did not let him out of his sight.

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The next game of the day was Ravenclaw against Slytherin. They turned out to be rather evenly matched and it was captivating to watch them play. Since the Seekers did not manage to catch the Snitch, it was a longer match (at least compared to the first one) which the Ravenclaws managed to put on their name, despite the fact that they had already played shortly before. Then again, maybe this gave them an edge over the Slytherins _because_ the previous match provided a better warm up. Among the Slytherin team, Daniel Fys actually played a decent game as Beater (though only barely within the rules), but it was Wufei's final goal that secured Ravenclaw a 100 to 90 win.

After another break of an hour, it was time for the last match of the day, which meant Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor. This time Harry was actually more curious than anxious how his team would fare. Although Hufflepuff was often underestimated where their sports prowess was concerned (just like where anything else was concerned), they had put together a strong newbie team.

Shortly into the game, however, it was obvious that the Gryffindors were still able to step things up a notch compared to their previous game. Nevertheless, the Hufflepuffs had drawn their conclusions from the first Gryffindor performance and apparently tried to eliminate Duo as the greatest threat for their goal hoops, while their Seeker kept an eye on Heero rather than looking for the Snitch himself. Reacting to this, Heero remained less stationary in the air, zooming around more, while Duo with his agility and wit proved himself hard to take out of the game. Again, Hilde and Quatre fired the bludgers relentlessly, so Trowa actually had little work, but when he was challenged, he showed himself as the acrobat he truly was.

In the end, the Hufflepuffs were virtually forced to remain on the defense. That, however, also meant they were crowding up on the Gryffindor Chasers who had a hard time finding a way through them. It was primarily thanks to Duo's tricks on the broom that they ever managed to score. And the Seekers had yet to catch a glimpse of the Snitch.

In a short break, which both teams took to regroup, Quatre signed to the braided boy that he and Hilde would make sure Duo could break through. Duo nodded in thanks – that was exactly what he needed now, as the Hufflepuffs had started to virtually build a wall in front of their scoring area after Gryffindor had taken a fifty points lead. And his fellow Chasers were just a little too inexperienced to cope with that – and to keep up with him.

Duo got a hold of the Quaffle and zoomed ahead determinedly. Yet again he found his way blocked by the other team and if he did not want to collide with his own team-mate next to him, he could not simply slalom around them.

Suddenly Hilde yelled: "Down!"

Instinctively feeling addressed, Duo simply let himself drop, so he was hanging underneath his broom for a moment. Right on time, as he saw a Bludger pass where his head would have been fractions of a second before, making the Hufflepuffs scatter. This dangerous move served its purpose and the braided boy's way to the goal hoops was opened. He righted himself again and scored. 70 Points for Gryffindor – only three more goals to score.

Things did not get easier for the Chasers. Again and again they seemed to run against a wall. Not even the way Heero started to cut through the clustered teams to provide enough openings for his team-mates could throw their opponents off. Doing so was also a hazardous strategy for the Seeker (Harry actually felt his stomach drop two or three times) as it meant attracting the opposing Beaters' attention – and their Bludgers. Still, the blue-eyed enigma dodged every attack skilfully while giving the Chasers a breather and the opportunity to score twice more. One to go, as yet no Snitch in sight.

After stopping a counter-attack of the Hufflepuffs, Duo once more received the Quaffle and found himself sandwiched with no-one to pass to, since his fellow Chasers were just as effectively blocked. _Damn_. He tried to feign a move to the left, but his opponents saw right through this. Suddenly, he noticed his own Seeker hovering a little further up between him and the other side's goal hoops, unhindered. Their eyes locked and an idea seemed to pass between them.

Duo pulled his broom higher and threw the Quaffle hard into Heero's direction, using the diversion he had thus created to zoom straight past his opponents and towards the scoring area. The whole audience seemed to still as the Gryffindor Seeker lazily caught the Quaffle and passed it on to Duo again. This surprising move had the spectators biting their nails, since at the very moment, the Hufflepuff Seeker started up to the far end of the pitch where he had spotted the Snitch high in the air. Despite being distracted, Heero was quick to follow, but to the knowledgeable crowd it was obvious he would come too late – wringing his hands, Harry thought he would have to have a word with the two players involved...

The spectators' eyes went to and fro, watching if Duo would score first or if the Hufflepuff Seeker would manage to catch the golden ball faster. At the exact moment that Duo sent the Quaffle through a Hufflepuff hoop, Harry's gaze darted to the Seekers to confirm Duo had come first – only to find that, indeed, at that instant it was Heero's hand that closed around the Snitch, a hair's breadth ahead of a very frustrated Hufflepuff boy. It took the crowd a second to follow, there was a moment of complete silence before the winning team received their well-deserved ear-wrecking applause.

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The Gryffindor team barely got the time to change and the party in their common room was already in full swing. The resourceful Weasley twins had procured the necessary supplies (including butterbeer, of course, and for their special friends one small bottle of firewhisky) and every attempt on Hermione's part to calm them all down seemed futile. Standing next to Ginny and her brothers, who were celebrating like they had won the house cup, Harry wondered whether he should inform everybody that there was still one match to go and, while things looked good for them, they still did not have it in the bag, but everyone was having so much fun – it was simply contagious...

Thus, it was not the team captain's voice that cut in coolly: "If we lose against Slytherin, both Slytherin and Ravenclaw can still beat us in the overall result..."

For a moment the assembled crowd seemed to sober up and all gazes were directed at the boy standing in a corner who had dared to utter such a scandalous statement. Then people shook their heads and resumed where they had left off, muttering about how on earth that guy had made it on the team with an attitude like that...

"Oh, shut up and have a butterbeer," a slightly tipsy Fred said heartily, offering a bottle that was pushed to the side as their Seeker forcefully paved himself a way to his dorm. Hermione and Fred exchanged a puzzled look before the twin shrugged and pulled the girl with him to join the fun, surprised that, for once, she did not protest.

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At the same time, Heero wondered why he had not simply kept his mouth shut. He had not wanted to go to the party in the first place, but when he had tried to make off, Duo had simply grabbed his wrist, Quatre had thrown an arm across his shoulders and together they had pulled him along. It was less the physical force than the braided boy's words, however, that convinced him to tag along. "You wouldn't throw your friends alone to the wolves, would ya?" The keyword "friends" made him stop struggling and deep down he felt something that could best be described as hope.

That, however, was soon crushed as he found himself alone in the corner while Duo had once again taken centre stage in his typical flippant manner, along with the rest of his team-mates. Heero did not envy them the attention nor did he mind being ignored by people who did not matter to him, but while everyone seemed to form smaller or larger groups with their friends, the people he cared about had apparently forgotten him.

The Chasers were boasting their own skill, Hilde was waving the flag for the Beaters and Ron (who somehow had got his arm around her waist and forgot about his fear for his position) kept reminding them of their keepers great deeds. Quatre and Trowa seemed to be in their own world again, only adding the occasional remark about the events of the day. Everyone else was going on about how they would flatten the Slytherins come tomorrow. Heero felt totally out of place and could not quell the urge to get everyone's head out of the clouds.

He should have kept quiet. Now all their eyes had looked at him like he was some weirdo. And he took notice of their comments...

"What a party-pooper!"

If he had thought someone would defend him, he was clearly wrong. "What's such a wet blanket doing on our team?" he heard someone ask and then Duo's jovial voice: "Ah, just ignore the sourpuss..." Oh, he knew that was just Duo's way. Still – he should have just left...

How could they feel so invincible? Sure, they all had their insecurities and disappointments, but still they seemed to think that nothing could bring them down in the end. Or did they just never consider the end? Was it just their youth and inexperience that made them feel so untouchable? It made Heero feel old, although he was just their age – younger than some, in fact. Even Duo had used the word today and he certainly wasn't as untouched by the hardships of life as most of the other teens.

Heero might have survived hostile fire and self-destruction, still he could not recall ever having this feeling of invincibility that seemed to surround the others. Unstoppable, yes, he had felt like that from time to time, but only because he wasn't afraid to die on the way, because he sometimes would have welcomed death. Yet he always knew that he was dancing on the edge of a knife and could be taking the fall any moment. He didn't feel untouchable, because he had been hurt too many times for too many reasons.

Maybe _they_ felt that way because they could depend on their friends and family, on certain constants in their lives that provided them with a sense of security like a cocoon. In his loveless childhood with the only constants being his training and the presence of danger, Heero never got that kind of safety net. Maybe it just went to show that as a human he was broken, wasn't worthy, didn't belong. He really shouldn't have joined the team. And he should have just left...

The unpleasantness of the day was not over yet for Heero, however. True to his word, Duo had not removed his latest surprise from that morning...

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Harry soon got tired of the party. The day had been a hard one on his nerves and while by now he was sure he had put together the best team possible, he knew the match to come would be the most difficult task in the tournament. Silently he agreed with the other messy-haired boy from his dorm. They could always celebrate again tomorrow. After reminding his team to not go to bed too late and saying goodnight to Ron, he finally withdrew as well.

When he opened the door to his dorm, he found the lights on, but the room empty. Crossing the room to close the open window, Harry noticed the reason why the dorm mate he had expected to see was not lying in his bed. _Duo really was one of a kind_. Harry gave the bed a closer inspection – apparently Duo had emptied a bucked of red paint on the mattress. The braided boy probably hadn't been aware of it, but in the dim light it looked almost like blood. _Ugh_. Harry quickly used his wand to clean up the mess, wondering where the owner of the bed had gotten to.

Nearing the bathroom, Harry heard running water. So that was where Yuy was. When he popped his head around the door to inquire if everything was alright, he could see the boy in question at one of the sinks, scrubbing furiously at his hands. Had Duo done anything to the paint to make it stick if you touched it? Curiously, Harry approached the other to have a look at his hands – they were impeccably clean, but looked raw from all the scrubbing and still the boy kept going at it, completely ignoring the new arrival.

Harry cleared his throat and the blue-eyed boy looked up for a second with a vulnerable expression that took the Boy-Who-Lived completely by surprise, then immediately resumed his task. Everything about this situation felt wrong, but Harry was unsure what to do, since he had no idea whatsoever what was going on. Somehow he did not dare to just grab those hands to stop them from causing more harm, though in his eyes it looked like they were close to drawing blood.

Instead he calmly remarked: "I cleaned your bed." The other gave no indication he had heard, but stopped the violent treatment of his hands, only keeping them under the running water. Harry could not deny that he was disturbed by this behaviour, so he tried again: "They won't get any cleaner, you know." At first, Yuy did not react, then he turned off the water and whispered softly: "I guess they won't..."

Harry wished he could say something else, but lacked the words. Still, the green-eyed boy felt he could withdraw now without having to fear for the other and got ready for bed, once more determined to keep an eye on Yuy, though this time not for his own sake.

When Neville entered the dorm less than an hour later, the curtains around one bed were drawn close, while the occupant of another bed slept fitfully...

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Meanwhile, the Hogwarts staff had assembled in the staff room to decide on the future of their colonial charges. The nurses had been invited too, so that they might contribute their own opinion of the pupils and of course to give the new nurse/Muggle doctor Sally Po the opportunity to get to know everyone.

The meeting had been going on for quite some time already and they were now discussing the older newbie students. It was interesting to watch – with some of the colonials, the staff easily agreed on their placement, with others there were heated discussions, one of the latter group was Duo. Almost everyone was convinced he would ideally be added to the sixth years, but Snape simply would not budge in his assessment that the braided boy was not "mature" enough (Sally could virtually see the grudge he was holding for reasons unknown to her). Luckily for the boy, the head of the respective house had the final say and Professor McGonagall was convinced not only of his skill, but also of his sufficient maturity.

The next file was thrown onto the table. And so they rather randomly worked their way through the stack of files for the colonial students. Sally's opinion was not really called for, since she hardly knew any of the kids so far, still she enjoyed watching the staff and checked the data sheets she was given on every student in question.

It was soon obvious that the Slytherin head of house was a real grouch, while the Gryffindor head seemed to be a resolute, but likeable person. Sally also found Professor Lupin, who had taken care of the Wing pilot, to be very pleasant and easy to talk to (she could tell why Heero seemed to trust him). After a while Hilde, Quatre, Trowa and Wufei had all been placed in the sixth year of their house, too. The same went for some Daniel Fys of Slytherin (despite the opposition of some teachers) who was separated from his girlfriend, however, who was put into fourth year.

For a moment Sally's thoughts drifted as she studied Wufei's data sheet. Then she realized that, once more, Snape was instigating a debate.

"He's too young."

"Not substantially younger than the others and his skills certainly qualify him for that year..."

Sally tried to sneak a glance at the sheet Lupin was holding, to see which student they were talking about now.

"And there is something strange about him..." the Muggle Studies teacher added.

"Did you realize he's a natural occlumens?" Snape wasn't willing to let that one go, apparently.

"I don't think it would be right to separate him from his friends." That was Lupin.

"What friends?" How Lupin managed to remain so calm when confronted with that smirking face was beyond Sally, but she had seen something flash in his eyes.

"Any other opinions?" McGonagall asked quickly.

Again Snape seized the word: "You are always so worried about your precious Potter's safety – I'd expect you to be careful who you are letting near him..." These venomous words made several people in the room stir uneasily – well, whoever they were talking about had managed to get into Snape's bad book already...

"Why don't we ask Miss Po? I gathered she knows the boy from before..." Lupin looked at her expectantly.

Ooops – she hadn't seen that coming. Fortunately, Professor Dumbledore proved helpful and handed her a sheet with twinkling eyes. Ah – Heero... She cleared her throat.

"Well, if you're worried for Harry Potter's safety..." _Great, all eyes were on her – what was the right thing to say?_ "I guess your best bet would be to actually put Heero Yuy into the same year. The kid's a true survivor..."

Had she said something wrong? Lupin was giving her a musing look.

"Well, I think we'll just follow your advice then..." Professor McGonagall said, to end the discussion.

It was only later that Sally realized what information was actually given on the sheet the old headmaster had handed her.

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Harry would have expected to sleep like a log after the days events, but he was to be disappointed. He did doze off quickly, but found no rest. When he finally managed to sink into the welcomed dark, it did not take long for disturbing images to appear before his inner eye.

_Again he found himself in that dungeon-esque lab within that strange swirling fog. Carefully, he moved forward. There was a constant loud mechanical noise and he was approaching it slowly. As the fog lifted slightly, he could make out some machines working on something huge and unidentifiable. He saw the sparks from a welding torch, the flickering lights from computers surrounding the workspace – what was this thing? Suddenly he felt rather than heard a movement to his side and swiftly turned his head, half expecting to see Lord Voldemort. Instead he looked into a face... a face without eyes... _

He screamed.

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At the same time the meeting of the Hogwarts staff was coming to an end. Trying to be inconspicuous about it, the members of the Order of the Phoenix remained behind, as the non-members among the staff slowly filed out.

"So, Remus, what did you find out?" Dumbledore asked in a pleasant tone.

"Well, it definitely was the work of a Pyromagus, as far as I can see. However, although there must habe been great power behind it, the whole thing seemed rather crude..."

"Don't let us do guesswork, Lupin – what does that mean?" Snape was impatient as ever.

"I think what we have here is an inexperienced Pyromagus. My best guess is that it was one of the new students who has not learned to control his power yet..."

"As if we did not have enough trouble already..." Tonks mumbled. "Now we have a Pyromagus on the loose, just great."

Snape felt like there was something in the back of his mind that simply wouldn't come to the front, like he was missing some detail here...

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The scream made Heero and Neville shoot straight up in bed. The Wing pilot's hand immediately went for the gun underneath his pillow and the moment he pulled back the curtains surrounding his bed, he was ready to fire at any intruder. Neville was lucky that the scarce moonlight falling into the room provided Heero with enough sight to assess the situation correctly. He approached Harry's bed, immediately letting the gun slip out of view. Not a second to soon, as at that moment the door burst open.

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Caught up in her own thoughts, it took Hermione a while to notice that Harry had left the party which by now was coming to an end. Only a few people were actually still there. Taking another sip of her butterbeer, which Fred had managed to make her drink, she approached Ron to ask him about their friend. When Ron told her Harry had gone to bed, a thought struck her: "You let him go to your dorm ALONE?"

"Hermione, Harry's a big boy. He can find his way to bed on his own..."

"Idiot, now he's alone with YUY. What if he IS the spy?"

George had followed their exchange with interest: "Hey, it was you who said..."

A loud scream from the boys' dorms interrupted. The guys bolted up the stairs, Hermione following them as far as the magic barrier allowed her to go. Wands ready, they burst through the door, the Weasleys in front. Seeing two figures surrounding Harry, Ron immediately sent a stunning spell at one of them, when a shriek by the second person told him this one was Neville and stopped them all from doing more damage.

"Stop it." Harry yelled.

"What's happening?" came Hermione's voice from the stairs.

"Yeah, what's happening?" George asked dryly as he used his wand to lighten the room.

"I just had a nightmare, okay." Harry, who could now be seen sitting up tangled in his sheets, said sounding somewhat annoyed.

"A nightmare or... you know...?" Ron asked worriedly.

"Guys, sorry to interrupt," Duo said from where he was kneeling next to the stunned Heero, "but what did you _do_ to Yuy?"

"Oh," Ron looked sheepish. "Just a little stunning spell. It'll wear off."

Quatre meanwhile was trying to get the shell-shocked Neville out of his daze, making the trembling boy sit down on his own bed. Fred took the time to tell Hermione that she need not worry and could go to sleep.

Once everything had quieted down (Duo still trying to revive Heero from the stunning spell since no-one cared to tell him the counterspell), Quatre asked: "So, what's this about a nightmare?"

And so Harry explained about his connection with Lord Voldemort to those present who did not know about it yet, but when he tried to relate this night's vision, he found he could not quite remember what had made him scream, only the fog and something about machines...

"So Voldemort is building some kind of machine for some unknown purpose," Duo concluded, completely ignoring that most of the non-colonials in the room flinched at the name. "Why would he want that? I mean, magic seems so much more effective..."

"I have no idea..."

"Why don't you try to use that connection to your own advantage?" Trowa asked curiously.

"Already did that, with disastrous results. I virtually got my own godfather killed. It's simply too dangerous..." The former pilots could easily see how this still affected the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Okay, so that's out of the question then." Quatre mused. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see..."

When Harry realized how late it already was, he broke up the impromptu meeting.

"Guys, time for bed, you have an important match tomorrow!"

Suddenly Fred remembered something. He chuckled: "Yeah, let's put Yuy to bed."

"Too late." Duo grinned as said boy rose from the sitting position he had assumed unnoticed by the others about halfway through their conversation.

Now it was time for the Weasleys to be "stunned" – the spell should have lasted way longer – and they exchanged puzzled looks with Harry. Heero just gave everyone a good glare and closed the curtains around his bed while certain other people in the room wondered how much he had heard and what sensitive information they might have given away.

One after the other, everyone went to bed, some worrying about a certain silent boy and what role he was playing in the scheme of things. They did not really bother, however, to check with another quiet boy what had happened, otherwise their worries would have increased tenfold.

Quatre had made sure Neville was alright before he went, still the boy would be unable to find a decent rest that night, because the image of a gun pointed at him kept haunting him. However, everything had happened so fast that he was not quite sure whether he had not imagined it all. Thus he kept quiet in front of the other boys and tried to face his fears alone, once he had calmed down. Still, he would never see Heero Yuy the same way again...

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The next morning, the Gryffindors found it rather hard to get out of bed. So it was rather fortunate that like the day before the matches were to start after lunch and their team's game against that of the Slytherins was the last of the day.

After the previous day's hard match against Gryffindor, the Hufflepuffs were an easy prey for both Slytherin and Ravenclaw, going down rather fast. Thus, the Gryffindor team soon found themselves back in their changing room. Harry noticed with worry that his Seeker, who had been strangely absent during the first part of the day while the rest of them had been observing the other matches, was taping his visibly swollen right hand (result of a hard landing after being stunned). Duo tried to get a hold of it, but failed as Heero simply turned his back towards him and calmly continued bandaging his wrist.

"Are you sure you can play?" the team captain asked and took the glare he received to mean yes.

After reminding his team one last time to take care since the other side might play dirty, Harry took his seat beside his friends, hoping for the best.

True to Harry's word, the Slytherins went at it with a vengeance. They had taken a page out of the Huflepuffs' books and tried to neutralize Duo in the game while their Seeker kept his eyes on Heero. Against their archenemies, the Slytherins were more than willing to bend the rules as far as they could. Once the Gryffindors realized that, apart from the usual difficulties that could occur in the game, they were also faced with blagging (grabbing the broom tail of another player) and cobbing (elbowing) and the likes, they quickly attempted to adapt their strategy.

Duo tried to hang back and give his co-Chasers the necessary deadly passes, but the match was not only getting very fast, but also very hard. Fys nearly collided with the braided boy when Duo did not even have possession of the Quaffle and it did not look like an accident. Hilde and Quatre found themselves more occupied with defending their people than with their own calculated attacks.

Wufei, who was done with his own matches, followed this one with great interest. It had come as a surprise to him like everyone else to see Heero in the Gryffindors' line-up, but unlike everyone else he knew that a certain Perfect Soldier could well make the difference. Thus, he had not been surprised to see his friends take two wins and he would be the first to admit that they made a good team, though he had not been able to talk to any of them the day before.

Now Wufei found himself watching Heero more closely than the others and could not help admiring his skills. Regardless of his possible shortcomings in personality and attitude, the boy sure could fly. Be it Gundam or broom, Heero seemed to be a natural in the air, as he used the whole space of the pitch to shake off the Slytherin Seeker that trailed him and to irritate the other Slytherin players (Harry groaned inwardly when, after another of those silent exchanges between a certain group among the Gryffindor team, Yuy started to intervene in the game again). He didn't seem affected in the least when he crossed through the Slytherin lines although they almost punched him in the face at least once. His speed and quick reflexes, however, saved him from everything they came up with. That was just like the Heero they knew, but Wufei was not fooled. Both Sally and Professor Lupin had made it clear they were not only in the wrong, but actually hurting the other boy and the Chinese ex-pilot knew very well that, while in mission mode, Heero could be dying without ever letting anyone know if he considered it necessary.

The tension on the field was growing as the Slytherins crossed the boundaries of fairness more and more often, but Wufei was fairly certain that his friends would not take the Slytherins' attacks lying down. It was rather the non-pilots out there (excluding Hilde who, he was sure, could fend for herself) he needed to worry about.

It was the last straw, when Duo was almost hit by both bludgers at the same time. Wufei could virtually see a change coming over his friends. As the saying went, two could play the game – in this case both teams. The former pilots (and a certain tomboyish girl) were not afraid of getting more physical and so the Slytherins were in for a big surprise when they were repaid in kind. The Gryffindor beaters were not above pushing their opponents aside to create openings for their chasers and Duo had no qualms about leaning into the Slytherins who were blocking him to force his way through. His incredible stunts had the audience holding their breath. After being elbowed hard into the side, the braided boy even managed to score once hanging upside down from his broom.

The Gryffindor crowd (and most of the other houses apart from the Slytherins) were edging the scarlet team on. And while the Slytherin play got rougher, so did the Gryffindors – with the only difference being that they managed to remain within the rules.

Heero sped straight at the defensive wall the Slytherins were trying to build in front of the scarlet-robed Chasers, trusting his instincts that, even if the others would not move, he could still evade them, while the onlookers were certain of the collision to come. It worked out as planned, however, and Duo once more used the resulting opening to score.

In return, Fys nearly hit Trowa with a bludger, enabling his own Chasers to send the Quaffle through the Gryffindor hoops, so the score now read 50 to 30 with the scarlet team in the lead. The Gryffindors could not be stopped by this short set-back, though, and kept dominating the game, using the skills of every single member – Harry only hoped his Seeker would not forget to look for the Snitch.

And then the most spectacular move – Duo threw Heero a pass, the Seeker hovering completely free in front of the keeper, he raised his arm and... scored! It was unheard of and in a usual game it was definitely not the wisest thing to do, letting the Seeker get involved with the actual scoring, but since they were only playing for 100 points, it might just pay off. From then on, the game got even faster as the Gryffindors now virtually played with four Chasers and in turn the Slytherins played even meaner.

Duo took a nasty hit by the bludger, but played on as if nothing happened, passing the Quaffle on to Heero who threw it right back and suddenly was diving downwards in a straight line and with a speed that seemed to spell accident. Nevertheless, the Slytherin Seeker was right on his tail when someone, he thought it was Duo, yelled his name and he heard a whizzing sound. Noticing the bludger, courtesy of Daniel Fys, approaching, Heero rolled under the broom to avoid it. His hair was already brushing against the grass on the pitch when he rolled over again. Heero could hear the Slytherin crash into the ground behind him, as he himself already pulled up his broom to rise in direction of the opposite end of the pitch where he had actually seen the Snitch. Most of the spectators were enthused.

„Now that was a Wronski feint if I ever saw one." Even George was impressed and Harry was beginning to wonder whether he should consider playing another position on his team. He had to be honest to himself, that guy could give him a run for his money as Seeker.

The match was shortly interrupted to make sure the crashed Slytherin was alright and both teams regrouped, Heero always keeping one eye on the flighty golden ball while the Slytherins were sending him angry glares. The game was resumed and while Duo was scoring an incredible, almost impossible long-distance goal, Heero already dived down again, this time for real, after the fast moving Snitch that was getting closer and closer to the ground. The Slytherin Seeker, not wanting to be fooled again and still a little dizzy, remained behind until the audience caught on to the fact that the Snitch was indeed floating a few inches above the ground. Another Bludger was fired at the Gryffindor Seeker to stop him, but Heero only leaned lower over the broom, virtually following a horizontal line, and barely slowed down, before he stretched out his hand to securely hold the Snitch. He touched down and simply remained standing where he was.

A relieved sigh rang through the stands, since it had looked like another crash, and many winced at the hard landing, though the Seeker seemed unaffected. The whistle came at the same time as the deafening cheers of the Gryffindors and Duo jumped off his broom in flight to thow himself at the shorter boy who, this once, did not escape the his hug, but freed himself quickly. Before anyone else could try their luck, however, Heero handed Harry back his broom, just as Sally arrived. „Medical check-up," she told the round with a jovial smile as she steered the Seeker away by the shoulder towards the hospital wing.

She might as well have called it a rescue mission (though she wasn't quite sure whether she was rescuing Heero from the crowd or the crowd from the Perfect Soldier), but it wasn't a lie either. Anyone else would probably have broken his legs in that landing and she just wanted to make sure. Heero looked rather annoyed, but apparently had decided to humour her. Having pushed him into a chair, she quickly applied some cooling gel on his hand and checked his ankles. Sally was almost sure she could see an amused glint in his eyes. She could neither detect any damage nor did he show signs of pain, so she stepped back and wondered how to ask the questions that needed to be asked and tell him what he deserved to know. Seeing him glare at her impatiently and lacking the right words, however, she resigned herself to wait for the opportune moment and let him go with the uneasy feeling that this might have been the most suitable moment she would get.

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That evening, before the start of the meal, Professor Dumbledore announced that the staff had decided on the placement of all the new students, the results of which could be found in the respective common rooms. By the time they were finished, the according sleeping rearrangements would be made. After the headmaster then awarded the Gryffindor team 200 points for their victory, dinner turned into a great feast that could not even be spoilt by the long faces the Slytherins were pulling.

Meanwhile in Sanq, another decision-making body came to a conclusion...

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TBC

**AN: **_My dears, that's it for now. I do believe this will remain the longest chapter of this fic – it got a little out of hand (even now I'm not satisfied with the ending, but I had to stop myself). And I guess the readers would prefer shorter chapters and faster updates to monster chapters with a long wait inbetween (though, as always, I can't guarantee for anything)._

_Thanks for reading and, as you know, feedback makes me verrry happy._

_06/25/06_


	21. Beyond repair

_It's been a while, hasn't it? There were a lot of reasons for the long break, but I guess you're more interested in the continuation of this story, so I won't blab too much here._

_I would just like to take the time to thank all you wonderful reviewers for your continuing support. It really means a lot to me._

_One more thing: For the sake of this story – let's just pretend that the Marauder's Map does not show the name you were christened with, but the one you identify yourself with... (that's not too hard to do, is it?)_

_And here we go... _

** Chapter 21: Beyond repair  
**

After the official part of the evening was over, the party was naturally redirected to the Gryffindor common room. Not before the colonials had checked their new status in the school, though. There were pleasantly surprised and bitterly disappointed faces, but all that was forgotten once the Weasley twins got the butterbeer out.

It wasn't all that surprising for Harry to find that for his own dorm and the one housing Trowa and Quatre nothing changed. There was a little change in the girls' room, but neither Hermione nor Hilde really acknowledged it since both, despite their differences in character, got along much better with boys than other girls and were bound to largely ignore their dorm mates.

Thus, this night's focus lay completely on their victory party and really nobody cared that the next day was supposed to be business as usual – not even Hermione, who was too embarrassed by the events of the night before to want to appear as a worrywart. Also, Fred made sure to include her in the group of former, actual or temporary Quidditch players and to keep the bottles of butterbeer coming into her hand.

The twins had really outdone themselves, organizing a zookbox from somewhere (nobody dared to ask where exactly). For a while, none of the colonial students could take their eyes off the strange little box that contained a live band of _Zooks_ who looked like a miniature mix of a squirrel and a dwarf and played requested songs when given a cookie. Their repertoire ranged from old wizard folk songs to the latest tunes of the Wyrd Sisters and soon they had the whole common room dancing.

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Meanwhile, the Slytherins were holding a special crisis meeting. They would not just sit there and cut their losses. From their point of view, the way the Gryffindor players had made a fool of the Slytherins called for revenge and it was obvious who deserved to pay the most. That duo of Maxwell and Yuy had it coming to them, no doubt about it.

Draco Malfoy was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed and refrained from contributing to the discussion. It might have been a testament to his dwindling influence in the Slytherin house, yet he felt disinclined to acknowledge that part of the latest developments, while he was listening to the different plans of action. This whole business was simply ridiculous and not worthy of the Slytherin name.

Fys acted as the great spokesman, but all he really managed to come up with was ganging up on the two culprits for their defeat in different scenarios (where really only the setting differed, not the procedure as such). It lacked style and finesse. It turned out that it also lacked a lot of daring, which was really disgraceful for his house that might be more renowned for its cunning, but, like Gryffindor, was usually as far from cowardice as you could get, or at least so Draco had always thought. Still, Fys obviously was afraid of attacking out in the open.

"Then I guess we'll have to postpone Maxwell's punishment to when the right opportunity arises," Fys was just stating, after his girlfriend had pointed out that the boy in question was virtually never alone. He always had the company of at least one person, usually a whole posse. "That Yuy, on the other hand, is almost always on his own. We'll get him first."

Despite the fact that the Asian-looking boy was considered the easier target, there was an obvious hesitance in Fys to make a move in a small group that made Draco wonder if he might have had a run-in with the other boy not unlike his own. Secretly the silent observer hoped that Fys would be taught another lesson. Although at the same time that very thought felt like betraying his own values. Draco gave a quiet snort when the discussion drew to a close, and went to bed. If this was what the Slytherin house was coming to, he wasn't quite sure he could still be proud of his affiliation.

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At the same time, Wufei had already retired, but could not find peaceful slumber because his mind was contemplating the situation that had occupied him during the whole evening. In the course of the feast, his fellow Ravenclaws had soon come to the conclusion that he would not be a great conversationalist that evening. Therefore, they had left him to dwell on his own thoughts which had revolved around the same thing over and over again.

While Duo, Quatre and Trowa were having their well-deserved celebration, Heero was once more blatantly missing. Of course Wufei had seen him being dragged away by Sally, but why would he not come to dinner, when the pretty blonde was already sitting at the staff table?

Then again, if Wufei really thought about it, this was not so atypical for the other Asian boy amongst the former Gundam pilots. While his missions somehow tended to end in a big bang that attracted lots of attention, 01 actually preferred to complete his tasks quietly and vanish into the background. You would almost think he was shy, ha. Wasn't Heero Yuy one of the least shy people he knew? Anyway, he decided to wait until the next morning to talk to his friends about the "situation" as it was presented to him by Sally and Lupin. The others were much too busy now and he did not want to intrude.

Little did he know that on the next morning he would receive another of life's lessons showing him that procrastination did not get you anywhere...

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Back in the Gryffindor common room, the influence of alcohol was getting more and more obvious, as the first people started dancing on the tables, among them Hilde who tried her best to get an unwilling Ron to join her. The sight made Duo wonder where his own girl had gotten off to, so he started to look for her throughout the Gryffindor tower. As he looked up the stairs, he couldn't help the grin spreading on his face. Yes, he had just won a nice little bet with the Weasley twins, because there, in a dark alcove stood Quatre and Trowa, snogging the hell out of each other. Damn, now he needed to find Sarah even more in order to have some serious snogging of his own. To his frustration, he only found out that she had already retired.

The party went its merry way, however, until, quite late that night, most had either found to bed on their own or had been dragged there after passing out. The Weasleys, Harry, Hermione and the ex-pilots 02 through 04 were the last to clean up the mess. Luckily, there were charms to make the task easier, though some of the slurred attempts due to sleep deprivation and slight tipsiness had rather funny results. Another source of amusement for Duo was the way Trowa and Quatre kept avoiding his gaze, since the braided boy could not refrain from making innuendos and raising his brows suggestively whenever their eyes met his.

A short while after they, too, had gone to sleep, Harry suddenly awoke in the middle of the night, as it happened so often lately. This time it wasn't because of a nightmare, at least not his own. He heard somebody tossing and turning, who turned out to be Duo. And there was a dark shadow looming over the other boy. Harry was just about to cry out, when he recognised the shadow as Heero. Not all that reassuring, for all he knew, but it seemed obvious that the guy was trying to cautiously rouse the sleeping boy.

"Duo!"

Could Harry detect a hint of urgency in that whisper? Finally, the Asian-looking boy achieved his goal and Duo sat up slightly disoriented. A few seconds later, he bolted for the bathroom and Harry could hear him retching as Heero followed hesitantly.

Wondering if he could help somehow and also a little curious, the Boy-Who-Lived peeked around the corner. While Duo vomited violently into one of the sinks, Heero was holding back the long hair, looking indifferent and at the same time a little awkward to Harry. After what seemed a long time to Harry, who remained in the shadow, the braided boy stopped heaving. Another moment later, he righted himself and hurried out of the bathroom and the dorm, without even noticing who was standing beside him. Harry wanted to go after him, but a monotonous voice stopped him: "Go to bed."

Heero had spoken without looking up, while he was cleaning out the sink. Harry, surprised that he had been noticed, couldn't help but admire the stoic face the other kept while completing this unpleasant task. There really was more to that boy than he had first thought. Once more he wondered about the kind of bond Heero and Duo shared. And what could have caused it to be so broken? Harry was shaken out of these thoughts as Heero added with more emphasis. "Sleep. He'll prefer to be left alone."

The tone of order made Harry obey before he even realized it and the certainty it carried convinced him that the other knew what he was talking about. While Harry went back to sleep, Duo was restless and haunted the castle, just like his memories were haunting his dreams.

It was indeed one of those few situations where he preferred solitude in order to sort out his thoughts. He could not quite remember all the images of his nightmare, but it had been bad and then, as culmination, he had relived the scene of how Wing had once self-destructed. It was horrible. To think how he had mourned for Heero then and now he was barely civil to the other. He truly must be mad. Finding solace in the quiet night, Duo resolved to talk to Heero the next morning, for once just really talk things through.

Unawares, the two friends were separately staring at the waxing moon, each mind on the other, yet seemingly miles apart.

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The next day found many Gryffindors downright crawling out of their beds. Ginny was actually up rather early, but she could not deny that she was having an unpleasant hangover that prompted her to go to the sick ward for some kind of remedy.

Fortunately, it was the young nurse Ms. Po who attended her, so she was spared the scolding by Madam Pomfrey and only had to confront the amused glint in the new nurse's eyes. Being the helpful girl she was, Ginny also asked for some of the potion for her brothers and her friends. Feeling much better already, she made her way back, only to be scared out of her wits by the sudden appearance of a sombre figure before her.

"Are you mad?!" she franticly looked around to make sure that nobody had seen him, but he quickly pulled her into the shadows behind a pillar.

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Slowly, the gang assembled in the Gryffindor common room. Not sure whether the girls had already gone for breakfast and not really ready to stomach anything just yet, they decided to wait a little bit longer. Harry secretly scrutinized the appearance of a certain braided boy, but Duo did not look any worse for wear than any of them after that night, so he kept quiet. After all, Duo did not seem the type to keep things bottled up that needed to get out on the table.

So occupied they all were with their respective hangovers that they did not even notice Heero slipping past them with a few books on his arm. The world around them was a rather blurry place, until suddenly Ginny appeared at their side, looking fresh as the morning. The annoyed glares directed at her ceased immediately, however, once she distributed the potion she had received from Sally.

As she did so, she told Harry underhandedly: "Oh, by the way, I ran into Si... Snuffles on my way back. He wants to see you." She bit her lip, when she realized her almost slip.

"Ah, and you know how? Was it the wag of his tail or did the dog speak to you?" Duo smiled at the image in his head, but Fred came to his sister's rescue.

"Sure, it's a wizard's dog, after all," he dead-panned. While it seemed a little strange to the ex-Gundam pilots, they just laughed it off. Harry put a reassuring arm around the girl and mouthed: "No harm done."

He had not noticed, however, that a certain blue-eyed boy had stopped dead in front of the backside of the Fat Lady's portrait. As he walked on, suddenly all the pieces seemed to fall into place.

_ That same slip of the tongue again... The missing signs of the existence of a dog in the Lupin household... Two cups on the table... The eyes... The smell..._

Slowly he went on to return the books to Professor Lupin.

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Meanwhile, the gang, reinforced by Hermione and Hilde, decided to have a little bite to eat after all. It wasn't long after their arrival in the Great Hall, however, that the owls carrying the mail arrived. And once Quatre had received a letter from a strange owl wearing a pink ribbon, the former pilots had more important things than breakfast on their minds.

Wufei had just ambled over to have his long-needed chat with his friends, when he saw Quatre open his letter, starting to read and turning a shade of grey. He rushed over, but when he got there, Quatre was already reassuring everyone that he was fine. He did signal Trowa, Duo and Wufei, however, to come with him where they could talk in private. In an alcove just outside the Great Hall, he showed his friends what had him so shocked.

_My dear Q,_

_Ha! Got you – I guess your sister caved in after all. On the other hand, I should have guessed that someone from a renowned wizard family such as yours would get the opportunity to attend Hogwarts, although to my defense I have to remind you that, coming from a family that has only produced Squibs for several generations and being raised by Muggles, I was not really up-to date with the happenings in the wizarding world._

_All kidding aside, I'm sorry to say that, now that I found you, I'm the bearer of good AND ill news. You will probably soon learn of the conclusion of the trial. However, I found it only appropriate to inform you personally in advance, as the presiding judge informed me today. _

_You may not believe it, but the Lady and I really did all we could to turn the odds to your favour and I'm pleased to say it did work to a certain extent – until J made his appearance. To this day, I do not understand what exactly he wanted to achieve. I got the impression that 01 really slipped through his hands and somehow he wanted to get back at him – or maybe just get him back. I'm not sure. I'm sure he gave me the creeps, however. Something just did not seem right about him and although the Lady agreed with me, I do not believe anyone else felt it. So he unfortunately did leave quite an impression._

_My dear, to cut a long story short, the court will acquit the pilots of all charges. The pilots 02 through 05 may take residence on Earth if they wish to do so and will remain undisturbed. Due to J's testimony, however, pilot 01, being considered the "ringleader" and a hazard to society, will be evicted from Earth. As of the announcement of the sentence he will be given 48 hours to leave Earth. Should he be located on Earth afterwards, he will be arrested and punished accordingly. _

_It seems so unfair to me, but we did not manage to sway the opinions, so this is the unfortunate result which will be announced some time tomorrow – or rather today, as you are reading this. I'm truly worried how 01 will react. Hell – I'm worried about him. Full stop. (And yes, I did swear.) Please, if you found out anything about his whereabouts, let me know (I swear I won't make a fool of myself and harass him). Or at least let me know whether he is alive and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. You know how he can be. _

_I hope this letter finds you well and will bring you more joy than pain. After all, the concerned authorities do not even know who you really are, so it should not be so bad. Still – it's so unfair, it drove me up the wall._

_Anyway, there is little we can do now. Send my regards to everybody and take care, all of you._

_Love and best wishes,_

_R._

_PS: The Lady sends her regards, too. And I assume I do not have to remind you to destroy this letter after reading it._

There was a stunned silence after the pilots had all read the letter. "Hey, who the hell ever appointed Heero the leader – we are all our own leaders..." Duo quipped, only to fall silent immediately, once it hit him like a hammer how much damage this decision might do to the Wing pilot.

There was this old saying about sticks and stones – well, that might be true for others, but, despite the way he himself sometimes questioned Heero's heart and forgot to be considerate about his emotions, Duo was fairly sure that words like these held much more destructive power to the Perfect Soldier than any physical attack. None of them had played their part for fame or fortune. They did not even want recognition. A thank you would have been nice. But this...

Being acquitted should have given them reason to celebrate, but under these circumstances none of them could say they felt happy about the outcome. Not only was it so unjust, most of all there was no knowing how Heero would react and they certainly did not want him to leave, no matter how strained their relationship was at the moment.

"We have to tell him, before he finds out from somewhere else," Wufei said in a decisive tone. "And we have to make sure he knows we want him to stay. The way we acted here might otherwise provoke him to up and leave."

The Chinese boy then continued to relay how both Sally and Lupin had indicated that it had not been Heero's free will to leave them behind. The thought that the Wing pilot might not be able to overcome an obstacle was an alien concept – and if it had indeed been like that, he could have told them so, right? Still, deep inside they all were well aware that their comrade wasn't one to wear his heart on his sleeve. A vague sense of guilt spurred them into action and they split up to form a search party through the castle.

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In the meantime, Sirius was waiting for his godson to arrive. So far he had not found the opportune moment to warn Harry of his suspicious dorm mate, but now he felt compelled to do so, before the boy formed an attachment to the other, somewhat shady teen.

He did not think there was an immediate danger, but the fact that Harry had put that kid on the Quidditch team gave him a bad feeling that it was already too late and that the blue-eyed boy might get too close to the hope of the wizarding world – all the world, if you really thought about it. That notion made him feel incredibly proud of Harry. Not only because of the boy's importance, but also how admirably he handled the situation. Deeply immersed in these thoughts, he quickly opened the door wide, when the long-awaited knock sounded.

"Snuffles, I presume..." a cool voice stated. "Or should I say _Sirius Black_?"

Sirius looked down into a pair of startling midnight blue eyes, shocked speechless. How could he have made such a mistake!

Unfazed by his glare, the boy pushed past him and set the books back into their respective places on the shelf. Sirius angrily threw the door shut. His thoughts were running wild. He needed to get rid of the boy. A memory charm? A good blow to the head? What could he possibly...

"How dare you? And _how_ do you kn...?"

The messy-haired boy had the audacity to ignore his rant and look him up and down, his stance apparently completely relaxed.

"How _do _you become an Animagus?" he then asked in an indifferent tone.

"What makes you think I would tell you of all people, when I would not even tell my own godson?" Sirius gave a sharp, almost hysteric laugh at the boldness of this question. "What are you trying to achieve here? I know exactly you're not who you pretend to be..."

"Neither are you," the boy interrupted.

A moment of tense silence ensued, in which Sirius Black threateningly approached the boy and hissed: "Don't mess with me and most of all leave Harry alone or you will soon find yourself pushing up the daisies..."

The infuriating kid simply narrowed his eyes at the threat, but chose to overlook it. "Tell me how to become an Animagus and you won't get any trouble from me."

This took the wind out of the older man's sails. "How could I trust you on something like this?"

"You don't, no more than I trust you. I could sell you out. Then again, you and Professor Snape found some things out about me, too – although that's really nothing compared to your own situation. Think about it."

Actually, Heero hated to resort to blackmailing, still he would do what needed to be done to gain an advantage in whatever was to come in this war. And while he knew he could not trust the Animagus where his own person was concerned, he was by now certain that the man posed no threat to Harry Potter and his cause which Heero had made his own.

Sirius, on the other hand, was stunned. This little speech was delivered in a deadly tone yet something flashed in those fathomless eyes that suggested that the boy was less menacing, but almost desperate. A fact that made him stop on the spot when the teen slipped out of the door without another word.

And how the bloody hell did he know that he'd been there with Snape? His instincts were warring. Nothing about the boy's appearance looked intimidating at first glance, but he still managed to give him the creeps with his cold stare and his emotionless tone alone. And yet, there was a nagging little voice inside of him that sounded suspiciously like Remus telling him that, if the enigmatic boy had wanted to cause Harry harm, he could have done so long ago.

Nevertheless, he had once put all his faith into another with disastrous consequences. He would never trust that easily again. And certainly not a snotty brat like that one.

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Duo was beginning to think Heero was hiding from him on purpose. A little wiser after his last search, he had immediately started looking on the roof, but to no avail. Now he was roaming the castle from the top to the bottom, but there still was no trace of his elusive friend and the time till first period was slowly running out. Near the dungeons, he practically ran into Draco Malfoy who almost bit his head off for not looking where he was going (which of course wasn't true). The platinum blonde had almost vanished around a corner, when Duo called him back.

"Hey Malfoy, you didn't happen to see Yuy, did ya?"

Draco stopped and turned around. His gaze was strangely thoughtful when he looked back at the braided boy. Duo almost gave up hope of receiving answer, when the other seemed to make up his mind.

"No, but I'd be careful if I were you. The whole Slytherin house is out to get you – and Yuy in particular."

Leaving a flabbergasted Duo behind, he turned on his heels only to stop a few steps later. Over his shoulder he added: "I'd ask Potter if you cannot find him. He and his friends have an uncanny ability of knowing where people are..."

He had already rounded the corner when Duo called after him: "Thanks, man. Always knew you're not as bad as you pretend to be..."

After another five minutes of fruitless search, Duo decided to heed Malfoy's advice and try his luck with Harry. Maybe the green-eyed boy would know a spell to help him locate the missing ex-pilot.

He found Harry near Professor Lupin's office, accompanied by Ron and Hermione. All of them looking rather concerned (for some reason, Sirius had not been there, although it had been he who had asked for Harry), but Duo could not be deterred. He had waited much too long to make up with Heero and now there was no more time to loose. Who knew when the news would reach Hogwarts and he wanted the stoic boy to be told by a friend and not by strangers who had no idea about anything.

"Oi, Harry. Can I talk to you for a second."

The other looked surprised, but nodded his agreement. Duo wasn't too pleased to note the other two following them, but it always seemed you could only get the whole package, hardly ever just one of them. And it wasn't like he would be revealing big secrets.

"Well, I'm looking for Heero and I can't find him anywhere. Malfoy said you might be able to help me somehow..."

"Malfoy?" Hermione did not care to keep the doubt out of her voice and the expression on the boys' faces mirrored her tone. What was Duo's business with the Slytherin?

"He said it like you knew a spell or something, so I was just wondering..."

The three of them exchanged a look and Hermione's and Ron's facial expressions clearly said no, but Harry seemed to be ready to ignore them. He did not wonder what Duo had to do with Draco, since the braided boy was pretty open with everyone. Yet he also knew how to keep secrets, so the Boy-who-lived did not think it would do any harm to reveal one of their biggest secrets. And had Quatre's vision not been about trust, too?

"Come along then. It's not really a spell, but you'll see."

"Harry..." Ron almost whined.

"Honestly!" Hermione exclaimed. "You're not going to reveal everything, are you? Are you sure how far you can trust them?" Harry was quite surprised how distrustful the girl was getting as of late.

Duo only followed the conversation with slight amusement as they returned to the Gryffindor house. Interesting. There was something going on here. You could say a lot for Duo Maxwell, but certainly not that he wasn't curious.

"Yes, I'm sure. These guys have become our friends, and if we can't even confide in our friends then..."

"Sure, but Neville and Dean are our friends too and even they don't know." Hermione seemed adamant.

"Guys, trust me on this, okay?" In a lower voice so that Duo almost could not catch it, Harry added: "I just have this feeling they are going to play an important role here."

"Why are you actually looking for that guy?" Ron tried rather belatedly to distract Duo.

"Uh, we just got some bad news from a mutual friend of ours and it's something he really needs to know..."

"So that's why Quatre reacted that way?"

"Yeah..."

"Why don't you two go ahead to our classroom?" Harry asked while grabbing Duo's arm and pulling him towards their dorm, but Ron stepped into their way.

"Swear that you'll keep this a secret." Ron demanded fervently.

Duo felt like he'd been transported into one of those old Enid Blyton books he'd once read a long time ago, still he could not help his curiosity and did as he was asked to do. Ron held his gaze firmly for another second, before he nodded, apparently satisfied by what he had seen. Hermione only shook her head as if wondering how boys could be so stupid, but she knew that nothing she could say would stop them, so she let herself be dragged away by the redhead.

After the two of them had finally reached the dorm, Harry rummaged through his trunk to present an inconspicuous piece of old parchment. At first, Duo was puzzled how this should help him, but then he was delighted to learn what this wonderful magical device could do.

Together they bowed their heads over what was now revealed as a map in order to spot the little dot that was marked with Heero's name. Suddenly, Duo cursed.

"Dammit, they got to him first..."

Harry was stunned to watch the braided boy jump up and head for the door, when he too noticed what had upset the other. A bunch of Slytherins was closing in on the Heero-labeled dot, with no-one else in sight. That never did bode well for a fellow Gryffindor. Harry swiftly wiped the map blank, stuffed it into his trunk and followed his dorm mate.

The closer they got to where Yuy would have to be, the more Slytherins were hurrying in their direction. Not in order to stop them, though. Sporting bruises and bloody noses, it rather seemed like they were fleeing the scene. Maybe a teacher had shown up, Harry thought. Duo, however, gave a grim bark of laughter: "Now I definitely know which trail to follow."

Mystified Harry just kept to his heels, until they rounded another corner where they found the boy they had been looking for pressed against the wall by five Slytherins. When Harry reached for his wand, however, Duo stopped him and pulled him back around the corner.

"Let him have a little fun with them."

He grinned in way that almost made Harry worry for the braided boy's sanity. When he carefully peered around the corner, though, he was astonished to see that the Asian-looking boy had slipped through the Slytherins' grasp and was now actually giving a lot better than he got.

"Are you sure we shouldn't help him?"

Duo casually looked over Harry's shoulder. "Nah, he can manage just fine on his own."

To his surprise, it seemed the boy in question had heard the whispered words, for an angry blue-eyed glare was directed at Duo who gave the other a friendly wave.

"Just yell if you need a hand."

Heero just rolled his eyes, but the mere presence of two more Gryffindors was enough to break up the brawl. The unfortunate Slytherins who had dared to cross Heero's path seemed quite relieved to have an opportunity to leave the scene without losing more face than they already had.

Much later on, there would be a lot of rumours caused by the bedraggled appearance of certain Slytherins – rumours saying that these students had ganged up on some Gryffindors and got taught a lesson, but of course none of the Slytherins would admit to it having been only one and the three Gryffindors who had been present decided to keep their mouths shut for their own reasons.

Nevertheless, Harry was amazed how one skinny boy had accomplished this feat. Maybe it was this scrawny appearance that ensured that Heero's name never fell in connection with this new "legend", even though a certain group of Slytherins would from now on give the boy a wide berth...

"Was there anything you wanted?" the very boy asked monotonously, as if nothing had happened, once the three of them were alone in the corridor.

"Actually, there was."

Duo became serious all of a sudden. With a cautious look to the green-eyed boy at his side he continued: "Quat got a letter from the pink princess."

Heero simply raised an eyebrow, while Harry wondered whether this was some form of code he just did not get.

"Bad news, I'm afraid, but you should see for yourself."

It wasn't as if Duo could talk openly with the Potter boy present, but Heero thoughtfully followed his braided companion as he led the way towards the Great Hall, the designated meeting point for the ex-pilots. Harry trailed a little behind, but seeing that this was apparently none of his business anymore, he took his leave from the other boys as they reached their destination and were surrounded by Wufei, Trowa and Quatre. The last thing Harry noticed was that the usually so stoic boy was looking rather suspiciously at the others.

Before Wufei could manage to voice the apology that was on the tip of his tongue, Quatre had already pressed the letter into Heero's hands. They all watched him closely as his eyes flew over the lines. His lips were pressed into a thin line – the only visible sign they discerned of his displeasure – when he gave the letter back and made to walk away.

Duo wasn't willing to let him go so easily, without having had the opportunity to get out all he wanted to say, so he took the risk and grabbed the others arm. Heero stiffened and briskly turned his head in question. For a second, Duo was able to see the jumble of hurt, confusion and other indiscernible emotions in those dark blue eyes.

"What are you going to do now?" was the only thing Duo managed to ask, faced with this unusual display.

"As if you care," Heero ground out and pulled away, leaving a stunned group of friends behind.

"You're not taking that seriously, are you?" Trowa shouted after him in the hopes of holding him back.

The chocolate-haired boy stopped shortly and said in a lifeless voice, without turning around: "I have a mission to complete."

Then he left swiftly, not giving them any opportunity to stop him.

"Now that went well," Quatre said with uncharacteristic sarcasm, rooted to the spot by the unreality of it all.

"We certainly did not handle that in the best possible way..." was Wufei's rather resigned comment.

Like the others, the former Deathscythe pilot felt unable to do anything but stare after the leaving boy. Heero's words stung, but even worse was the knowledge that Duo had brought it upon himself. As he followed his comrade with his eyes, he realized that this time it might be too late to win Heero back, that he might have driven him away for good.

The braided boy had experienced a lot of pain in his short years, yet he could not remember such a sense of loss as it invaded him now. Not even with Solo, Helen or Father Maxwell. Maybe it was due to the intermingled feeling of guilt. When the church had gone up in flames, he had been driven by the thirst of revenge, which did not soothe the pain, but helped fight the guilty feelings – yet right here and now the one responsible for this mess was the one and only Duo Maxwell himself.

He had fucked up royally. And there was little he could do to make things right again. He had brought out the Perfect Soldier again – he had seen it in Heero's eyes. Though he wanted to remain hopeful that, having mellowed the Perfect Soldier once before, he would be able to get through to what he considered the real Heero again, he did not feel very sure about that. However, if or when there came a time that the Soldier let down his guard – Duo would definitely make sure to be there.

Meanwhile the other ex-pilots were puzzling over Heero's words. What mission? Was he talking about J's orders to return? Quatre pointed out, however, that, if he had regarded this order as his mission, Heero would have left long before. It was just too bad that nobody ever quite understood what went on inside that complicated head of their fellow pilot.

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Said head was thoroughly confused. So now he was officially a hazard to society... Heero was glad for the others, but it hurt to know that no-one was willing to believe in him. If only they let him, he would prove that he could manage just fine in peace – that was what he had been fighting for, after all. Yet now it was too late. He had never felt quite as alone before, quite as unwanted. To be honest, before he had met the other pilots he had never actually cared whether he was alone or wanted. But now...

Oh, sure he had seen the worry in the others' eyes – they were just too kind to not care about other people, it did not necessarily mean they still considered him a _friend_. And maybe it would even be better if they didn't? They were good people – and if something happened to him, of course they would be affected, even more so if they were on friendly terms again. He would have to cut all ties with them. That way he could not bring them down with him, once push came to shove.

It wasn't because they were a liability – often enough had they proven their worth – it was rather the other way around. Now _he _ had become the liability. He had to sever the bond he still felt with them, before it could lead to their downfall.

He couldn't say that he had not known that his words would hurt Duo. Actually that had been the intention. It wasn't revenge and it certainly was not pointless cruelty – only the first step to distancing himself from them. Just because he had trouble understanding other people's feelings and even his own, did not mean he could not recognize them. And being a good observer definitely made up for his lack of empathy. Therefore, despite his stunted emotional development, Heero Yuy was quite well-versed in the fine art of manipulation.

Now he only had to hope the others would allow themselves to be pushed further away from him, but then again the Perfect Soldier would make sure of that. And he wasn't sorry. Not at all. Honestly.

Right now, though, Heero felt he could not face the school day. His first attempt at leaving his soldier alter ego in charge had obviously not been as successful as he had hoped and expected, otherwise he would not feel the way he did. He needed to reach that stage of efficient functionality again, where only the mission objectives mattered. This meant getting his act together first, before he could deem himself ready to venture into the crowds again. Automatically he retreated back on the roof, while down in the castle, the first regular school day began.

Like a mantra he repeated the big Cs in his head: calm, cool and circumspect. That's how he needed to be. Calculating. He couldn't allow his emotions to interfere. Calm. Cool. Stupid hopes. Circumspect. Calculating. How come the others had seemed so concerned? Cool. He needed to keep cool. And circumspect. And he wasn't disappointed at all. Calm. He tried to just breathe evenly. Getting evicted – what did it matter? Calm. Cool. Circumspect. He started playing with his knife. They'd never get him anyway. Calculating. And they certainly wouldn't get _to_ him. Cool. He made the first cut. Calm. DAMMIT!!!

Meanwhile the school day was well underway. The Gryffindors were glad to have a double lesson of History of Magic first, since it allowed most of them to drift back to sleep for some time while their professor droned on and on. If the ex-pilots were surprised to note that their usually so dutiful comrade did not show up, they did not let it show. No-one else was aware of how truly unusual this act of truancy was. After the short break came a very nice, but unremarkable class of Herbology which lead up to the lunch break.

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By now, as it turned out, the news from the Gundam trials had reached the rest of the wizarding world, too, (thanks to a certain "bugging" reporter well ahead of the Muggle world) and the owls were flying in droves to deliver the newspaper extras.

In the stir that ensued, Harry was probably the only one who registered how uninterested a certain colonial quartet reacted and how they were at the receiving end of a very sharp and somewhat questioning look from Hilde. Neither of the two realised, however, realised, how much it cost them to put up this indifferent front. Harry did not dwell on this for long, because soon his temper started to boil due to certain remarks that reached his ears.

In the meantime, Heero had decided that, having skipped breakfast already, it simply would not do to start neglecting his body again, so, after a quick stop at the owlery, he went for lunch. He had thought he was prepared for the other Hogwarts residents' reactions to the news, but he did feel slightly overwhelmed by the heated atmosphere in the Great Hall. Nonetheless, Heero tried to ignore the uneasy feeling in his stomach and put up his uncaring façade, opting to take a seat as close to the exit as possible, which also meant far away from his former comrades.

Again it seemed there was a deep divide between the students. Many welcomed the decision by the court, considering it a fair compromise. Others were annoyed at how easy the pilots had gotten off. Some could even be heard remarking something along the lines of how they should be sent to Azkaban.

Apart from Quatre, the other colonials of the Gryffindor gang were at a loss what this Azkaban talk was all about, nevertheless they noted the worried glances the Weasleys, Hermione and Neville threw towards the Boy-Who-Lived whose expression grew more and more murderous as the remarks became more and more hateful.

Another newbie who obviously was better informed took pity on seeing Duo's confused expression and explained: "Azkaban is the wizard version of Alcatraz – a top security prison. No one escapes from there..."

"_Yeah, just the right place for these criminals. Let the Deementors deal with them..."  
_

"_Give them a lethal injection, I say, all of them..."_

"And what exactly are Dementors?"

"They are the monstrous guards of Azkaban. Magical beings that feed on people's happiness until they are drained of everything that makes life worth living, leaving only the worst memories to be relived over and over again. It makes the prisoners weak and – after being exposed to the Dementor influence long enough – mad..."

"_I heard 01 was mad as a hatter anyway, wouldn't matter much to that one. Better give him the Dementor's kiss right away..."_

"Um...?"

This time Quatre took it upon himself to explain, gritting his teeth: "They call it the Dementor's kiss when the Dementor sucks out a person's soul... It's a death sentence without actually killing the body."

Before Duo could voice his disgust, Harry had jumped up and hissed at a group who were making particularly nasty remarks: "Will you shut up already..." Seeing as his words had no effect, he stormed out of the Great Hall, not noticing that Duo was close behind him.

"_Hey, what's got his knickers in a twist?"  
_

"_He of all people should advocate the Dementor's kiss, after all, wasn't it Sirius Black who escaped..."_

Duo had already let one of his friends run off today, he would not let another steam alone when he might need some company. The braided boy was fairly sure that, unlike a certain blue-eyed boy, Harry would appreciate someone to talk to – and would not be so hard to follow. Indeed, Duo had soon caught up with the other who threw himself into the armchair facing the fire of the Gryffindor common room, staring gloomily into the flames.

"Sooo,..." Duo sat himself down on the rug in front of the fireplace. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing," was the concise answer and the tone left no room for further questions.

"Ah." Duo fell silent as well. It was up to Harry whether he wanted to talk or not, but he did not want to leave him on his own, when he was obviously so upset. The braided boy had come to know the other as someone who might act on impulse, but was not really quick to anger – if he reacted the way he had, there was definitely something wrong.

From his own experiences, Duo thought that the other might just need some time to gather himself before he would share his thoughts. Even if he did not do that, sometimes the calming presence of someone who did not bug you, but was perfectly willing to listen did wonders. Come to think of it – Heero was someone like that. Often enough had he managed to get Duo to spill without saying a word himself (and though Duo had sometimes suspected he did not even listen – he had been proven wrong!).

The braided boy wished he could have been there for Heero like this, but, as in so many respects, Heero seemed to function differently. You just could never be sure that a well-meant gesture did not explode right into your face, quite literally. When Heero ran off, most of these rare times you better let him go, all the ex-pilots knew that. Besides, Heero was hard to catch, regardless of whether it was OZ chasing him or his friends trying to do what _they_ thought was the right thing to do and _he_ simply found annoying. Still, there should have been something he could have done this time...

"They don't even know what it's like..." Harry muttered suddenly.

So the strategy had worked. Duo just looked at him, raising a questioning eyebrow to show he was listening and – almost despite himself – Harry found himself relating everything from how Sirius was supposed to be the Secret Keeper for his parents, how the switch had led to their deaths and Sirius' imprisonment in Azkaban and how he and his friends had found out the truth during their third year. When he told Duo how close he had come to experience the Dementor's kiss himself, the braided boy felt the shivers running down his spine. br

Harry stopped there. Duo did not need to know exactly how they had managed to let Sirius escape, only to lose him in that fight in the Ministry... The thought of having had his godfather restored to him, little as he understood how that had come about, helped him calm down. The two silently continued to sit there, each contemplating their own thoughts. Just as Duo wondered why it could not be that easy to talk to Heero (or rather make him talk), Harry realized the break was over and the both of them hurried to their next class.

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When Harry and Duo arrived at the transfiguration classroom, they were a little out of breath. However, even though they were just on time, McGonagall had yet to make her appearance and there were still many students missing, probably due to the "exciting" news. And even those present were mostly occupied with the talk of the day, although Daniel Fys had obviously better things to do. Apparently his girlfriend had no lesson now – or maybe she just did not care if she was late – because there she was, putting up a disgusting show of snogging with the strawberry-blonde Slytherin. Duo just rolled his eyes at the display while Harry was ignoring them, but Draco Malfoy, who was just arriving, was not quite in the mood to let the opportunity of putting his fellow Slytherin in his place pass, so he said venomously: "Why don't you two get a room?"

If he had counted on embarrassing the other boy, he had miscalculated, however.

"Ah, Malfoy, you're just jealous, because you're not getting any," Fys mocked him right back. That remark, of course, did nothing to calm Draco's temper.

"At least I don't have to pay for it...," he said snidely, alluding to the rumours he had heard in the Slytherin house concerning Fys' oh so respectable father and where a lot of his money originated from. There was a short silence – most of the other students did not quite understand what he was getting at, but Fys did and he did not take it well.

"You little scum," Noemi screeched in his defense while her boyfriend advanced on Draco with his fists raised. The latter was not that easily intimidated, however, and just continued on: "You always display such a nice holier-than-thou attitude. Noble family, my ass." He had to duck a fist now, but he had gotten all the attention of those surrounding them and with relish he placed his next barb. "Your father is just a common pimp."

Fys swung again at him. "You... He's a respectable club-owner..."

"Sure, in the red-light district..." For the first time a fist hit its target.

"It is still a house of luxury... They wouldn't even let you inside..."

By now, two of Fys' cronies had come to their leader's help and only few of the exchanged "pleasantries" were actually still understandable to those standing outside the brawl. Duo had watched the scene developing before his eyes, but, as amusing it might be to watch Slytherins beat each other to pulp, three against one seemed a little unfair – unless the one was one of the Gundam pilots, of course – but since that was not the case, he decided to break this up. Although for a second he felt Harry trying to hold him back, he stepped right into the fray and tried to pull Malfoy and Fys apart.

"Stop it, will you. McGonagall is going to arrive any time now..."

Unfortunately, his efforts were not appreciated. While Draco sent him a look that could have been interpreted as vaguely grateful, Fys only saw him as a new target for his anger.

"You on the other hand might just fit in with the Velvet Cage..."

The tone was condescending, but it was the words that made a cold feeling wash over Duo, sparking dreadful memories. _The Velvet Cage_ It took the braided boy a second to realise that the fight had continued just as fiercely as before and somehow he had ended up right in the middle of it.

"That's not even remotely funny..." he yelled at the strawberry-blonde boy, blocking two fist that swung his way.

"It wasn't meant to be..." panted the other acidly.

In the meantime a circle had formed around the fighters and the other ex-pilots, Hilde, Hermione and Ron had arrived, shaking their heads at the show. Just as a gloomy Heero dragged himself up next to Hermione she asked into the round: "Won't anyone stop this?" She turned to the braided boy's friends: "Aren't you going to help Duo?"

It was Heero who said in his usual monotone: "He can manage just fine on his own."

Hearing this, Harry had to bite back a grin, but Hermione could of course not understand this allusion nor did she particular like the attitude she thought this remark expressed. Glaring at the boy, she asked in a reproachful tone: "I thought he was your friend..."

In his typical manner, Heero just ignored her. Like the other colonials of the group, he tried to gauge the situation. What had tempted Duo to fight alongside a Slytherin against other Slytherins? How did he fare? Only snippets of the taunts and insults flying back and forth reached his ears, but soon things became somewhat clearer.

"_...asswipe..." "...you with your girly looks... " "...blockhead" "...I'll show you girly..." "...bastard..." "...haven't you got enough, already..."  
_

The fists kept flying, kicks were dealt and to most everyone's surprise it looked like Duo and Draco would gain the upper hand over the other two. Just then, Malfoy was somehow pushed out of their midst and in an concerted effort the other three Slytherins pulled Duo to the ground. Using his braid, Fys held him down and sneered into his face: "...and you'd probably beg them to do you harder..."

Brimming with rage, Duo freed himself by knocking his head against Fys' forehead. Just as he was about to turn the table, the atmosphere seemed to change. There was an unnatural silence. Even the bystanders suddenly sensed that something was happening, but nobody could point a finger to it. The fighters let go of each other and stood somewhat shakily, looking around for the source of the discomfort they felt.

The air seemed to be charged with electricity and, all of a sudden, flames erupted around Daniel Fys. There was a nerve-racking scream when the fire caught on his clothes, engulfing him completely and making everyone take a step back due to the immense heat that developed. The blaze shot up to the high ceiling of the corridor.

Noemi Falger fainted, when the living torch of her boyfriend swayed from side to side, his piercing screams echoing through the castle. Trowa was the first to wake from his shock-induced stupor and try to help the Slytherin whose hoarse screams had turned to pitiful whimpers. He rushed to the burning boy, pulling off his own robe in the process. In an effort to extinguish the flames, Trowa pushed the other to the ground and wrapped his robe around him, but while he rolled the boy back and forth, the flames only ate away at the fabric, without diminishing.

By now, the others had regained their senses, but stood helplessly before this inferno. Those standing close enough could only stare in horror as they could make out the blisters that were starting to form on the Slytherin's skin. Hermione took out her wand to cast a water spell and Harry quickly copied her, but although this did seem to work, whenever the jet of water coming from their wand moved to another part of the body, the flames erupted again at the places they had already treated.

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall had arrived and resolutely pushed her way through the students. The spell she murmured finally showed the desired effect, but it was obvious that it cost her a lot of effort. Luckily, someone had already run off to get the nurse. Poppy Pomfrey hurriedly reached the scene to start treating the now still boy. She had seen a lot during her years as school nurse, but this still managed to shock her. Nevertheless she quickly checked the boy over and did what she could do on the spot before transporting him to her ward.

News traveled fast within Hogwarts, especially if Peeves stumbled across it, so before long a crowd gathered around the "hot spot", but even amongst the most curious almost everyone had to avert their gaze once they took in the gruesome picture. The boy looked more dead than alive and his flesh was blackened. While the newly arrived teachers tried to disperse the students, Daniel Fys was quickly levitated into the hospital wing where the fight for his life began in earnest.

Considering the shock caused by this inexplicable event, the classes were canceled for the day and all students were asked to retreat to their respective common room.

Despite their experiences during the war, the pilots and Hilde were just about as disturbed as everyone else by this horror, therefore Duo offered little resistance when Harry dragged him along to their common room. There were no words for this occurrence, hence they walked in silence. So dazed they all were, that no-one noticed how one boy fought the weakness in his knees and the bile that was threatening to rise, leaning on the wall for support as he followed his house mates...

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Once it seemed clear that Daniel Fys would survive this ordeal, the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall with the help of Professor Lupin started to question all the students individually who had been there to witness the beginning of the fire. First in line were of course those who had participated in the row.

Duo wasn't all that surprised when the message arrived for him to come to Dumbledore's office, although he was somewhat astonished to find they were not interested in punishing him, but solely in examining what had actually happened there. While the deputy headmistress looked very stern and disapproving, Dumbledore seemed only too willing to let this fight slide.

He actually had this benevolent expression in his twinkling eyes when Duo defended himself by emphasising that he had intended to break up the brawl and he did not press for answers when Duo stubbornly refused to explain why he had the fought on so vehemently. To the braided boy the whole thing seemed rather fruitless, but he could virtually see the old man prick up his ears when he mentioned the strange feelings that had overcome him right before the fire started.

Feeling that there was nothing more to add, Duo finally ventured to ask what had plagued him during the whole interview: "So, what's this all about, then. What happened out there?"

Just as Remus Lupin, who had remained a silent observer the whole time, opened his mouth to answer, Dumbledore rose, guiding Duo to the door with a friendly, but dismissing: "Thank you Mister Maxwell."

For once Duo was at a loss for words and simply left, though it was quite clear that they knew something which the Headmaster was not willing to share just yet.

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Meanwhile his fellow Gryffindors were quietly puzzling over the day's events and how Duo was faring. They, too, wondered what could have made the braided boy react so violently against Fys – it wasn't the first time someone had mocked him for his appearance, after all. More important, however, was the question of what had happened – and what was going on now.

They raised hopeful eyes when the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open, only to be disappointed when there wasn't much Duo could tell them. And it was only the beginning of a long afternoon as they waited to be called up and for the news of those returning. The presence of their friends seemed to have a calming effect on everyone, which explained why almost everyone opted to stay in the cosy room even though, for once, the fireplace remained cold.

There was one Gryffindor, however, who preferred the solitude of the bathroom adjacent to his dorm. He splashed his face with ice-cold water to regain his senses. He did not know what was wrong again, but something about this scene had seemed all to familiar. The boiling anger in the pit of his stomach, then the nausea... only this time he did not pass out. Still, somehow he had lost it again – though he still did not quite know what "it" was, there remained no doubt that he had unwittingly had a hand in this fire. The first time he might have believed in a coincidence, but certainly not twice...

Furious with himself he threw back his head to get the wet bangs out of his eyes and tried to calm down. He had always taken pride in knowing himself very well, but now he seemed to have trouble to keep himself in check. He simply could not understand what was going on and it was a feeling he did not like at all. Not. At. All. He sighed deeply. Why was his life so messed up...

Dark blue eyes opened to stare at the mirror unseeingly. Why was it so hard – his friends were pulling at his heart, J was pulling at him in the opposite direction. They were ripping him apart and he never seemed to be good enough, nothing he did was ever good enough. Earth was evicting him. And now this... this loss of control.

His gaze was meeting the blue-eyed look from the mirror, but the image was starting to blur. He tried so hard to be everything they wanted him to be, when in reality he was nothing. He felt surreal. Sometimes when he looked into the mirror he did not see the soldier, nor did he see the boy – on lucky days he saw a monster, when he was less fortunate he saw nothing at all... He was a nothing.

Right now he could picture his comrades – their faces, sneering at him. Telling him what a failure he was. Part of him knew this was irrational, but he couldn't help the feeling that he was always letting them down somehow – how could they not despise him for that? And now he may have accidentally set a fellow student on fire. How did that fit into anywhere?

Then there was J's face looming – he never wanted to see that expression ever again... Yet his choices were becoming more and more limited, now that they were ready to hunt him down. It was only a matter of time before he would find himself crawling back...

No, he would not give in now. He wasn't that weak. There was a mission to complete first. And since he could not afford to endanger the people around him, he simply would have to overcome this strange affliction. Still – there was something in those eyes staring back at him that scared him. Before he could control himself he lashed out at the mirror image...

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Neville was one of the last students to be called for his "interrogation". They were very gentle with him as if they doubted his ability to withstand the stress of the events. Truth be told he felt rather rattled, but he did not think his natural disposition had anything to do with it. Still, he was glad they made it short. It was not like he had much to add, after all. By now, word had gotten around what it was the teachers were looking for and suddenly "Gundam pilot" had been replaced by "Pyromagus" as word of the day...

Soon Neville was done and his only remaining task for the afternoon was to tell Yuy that it was his turn. Easier said than done, for when the shy Gryffindor inquired after him, it seemed no-one knew where the colonial was. The chubby boy did not notice the worried glances that were exchanged between Duo and Quatre, as he set out to look for the other in their joint dorm.

Opening the door he heard the sound of breaking glass. Despite his every sense telling him to turn around, he curiously went to look for the source of this noise, when suddenly it was repeated. Carefully Neville looked around the corner into the bathroom and held his breath. There was the boy he was looking for – and he was smashing his fist into the mirror, only to repair it with a flick of his wand ...and repeat the action. There was a wild look in those usually cold eyes that made Neville retreat hastily.

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"Reparo."

Taking a deep breath, Heero stopped himself from further demolishing the bathroom. Of course this had been a behaviour unworthy of a soldier, but it had felt good to finally let go of all his pent-up frustration. The way he had released it might be frustrating in itself, but better a mirror than a fellow student. Too bad Neville had witnessed this moment of weakness... Well, from now on he would eradicate his weaknesses. He would not allow anyone to come too close to him. Only – why was it that what was once purely natural to him, had become hard work now? This was unacceptable. It had seemed fine to mellow when his comrades tried to loosen him up, but it would not get him anywhere now. He needed to harden himself again. He needed to go back to square one.

Only for a fleeting second he allowed himself to wonder why he could not simply repair his own life the way he had fixed the mirror. Then Heero squared his shoulders, glared at his reflection and out walked the Perfect Soldier.

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TBC

_Soooo... That's it for now. I hope the next chapter will be out a LOT sooner... As always, I'd love to hear what you think..._

05/24/2007


	22. Secrets to hide

_This chapter is quite a bit shorter than the last ones and that is because I actually had planned to go on for a bit. However, seeing as it's almost Christmas and it's already been such a long wait AGAIN, here it is.  
_

_It's sad to think that J.K. Rowling managed to publish two books in the time I took for these 22 chapters, but then I do have to work a full-time job to earn my living... Anyways, I'm still refusing to read HPDH and we're still pretending that book no. 6 doesn't exist either – so no spoilers here._

_As always I would like to thank all you reviewers for your support. I do try to answer all signed reviews, but I might have lost track here, so I apologize in case I missed some. Enough said, I hope you enjoy this installment. (By the way, Relena makes a short appearance here, but Relena fans, that's as good as it's gets...)_

**Chapter 22: Secrets to hide**

Slowly the common room came back to life, as apparently there was not much to be learned from the last few people returning from the "inquisition". Finally the noise level reached a somewhat normal degree which allowed for the gang to press Duo for answers as to why he had intervened in a Slytherin fight. Right then, however, a message for the braided boy and Trowa arrived asking them to visit the hospital ward. Exchanging slightly puzzled looks, the two boys rose to meet Sally, which was just as well for Duo, since he wasn't really prepared to answer those questions yet.

While the two colonials were leaving, Harry noticed a slightly pale Neville slinking back into the common room. Seeing the furtive glances the other boy shot to the left and right, Harry quickly rose to ask him what was wrong. It took him a while to coax Neville into telling him.

Finally his fellow Gryffindor told him in what was almost a whisper: "I'm supposed to tell Yuy to go to Dumbledore's office..." He trailed off and Harry looked immediately about the room to locate the elusive blue-eyed boy.

"Well, he does not seem to be here. Have you tried the dorm?"

Neville only nodded in an odd way that made Harry prod further: "And...?"

"He's in the bathroom..."

Again there was something off in the way the other spoke.

"So... Did you tell him?" Sometimes Harry wondered how he managed to keep his patience with Neville, when he was not exactly the most even-tempered person.

Neville only shook his head. After a prompting look from Harry, he looked around furtively and whispered in a low voice so only Harry could hear it: "I didn't dare. He's smashing a mirror with his fist. And he looks really outraged. He keeps punching and repairing the mirror – again and again. It's like he's gone mad..."

Harry could only look at him wide-eyed at this statement, but while Neville was obviously afraid of Yuy, Harry was rather worried _for_ said boy. Therefore he quickly rushed up into the dorm they shared. He still could not understand that strange colonial, but somehow he just knew that, while Heero appeared destructive to Neville, he first and foremost had a strong _self_-destructive streak. And though Harry could not explain why, he still did not want to see someone (who in his eyes did not deserve it) get hurt, even if it was by his own hands.

Once he reached the bathroom, however, the show was apparently already over. There was no sign that what Neville had told him had actually happened, but he did not doubt it. All mirrors seemed to be intact and there was no trace of blood indicating someone had really gone berserk on the bathroom interior, nevertheless he did not question Neville's word. Venturing further into the room he became aware of the sound of running water he had ignored before. Steam was rising up from behind one of the shower stalls.

"Yuy?" he asked tentatively, wondering at himself how the boy was supposed to hear him – if it was him at all. Although there came no answer, the shower was turned off, which was confirmation enough for Harry.

"Yuy, you're supposed to go to Dumbledore's office."

There was a soft "hn" which was becoming increasingly familiar to anyone who had the pleasure of living in close quarters with a certain Asian-looking colonial. Harry took it to mean "yes" and left to give the other boy some privacy.

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Meanwhile Duo and Trowa arrived at the hospital wing. Hushed voices behind a curtain indicated where the school nurses were treating Daniel Fys. Yet as soon as Trowa cleared his throat, Sally rushed in their direction and ushered them into her office, telling them to sit down on the provided chairs.

"Hands!" she ordered briskly and Trowa obeyed instinctively. Sally carefully applied salve on the burns he had received while trying to put out the fire surrounding Fys.

Then she turned to Duo and tilted his face up to have a good look, before she took care of the split lip and the small gash to his eyebrow, results of the fight that had been ignored so far. Once Sally was satisfied with her work she sat down behind her desk and looked them over gravely.

"So, how's everyone holding up?" she asked finally in a tired voice.

"A bit upset, but otherwise fine, I guess," Duo answered for the two of them. "How's Fys?"

"He'll live, but it was a close call. And it will take a while for him to recover." Sally rubbed her face in an exhausted gesture that told the boys exactly how much effort it had cost them to save the Slytherin.

"And how is Heero?" the young woman suddenly leaned forward a bit, and if Duo and Trowa had not guessed it from the change of topic, they surely would have realized from her intense look that she was not exactly talking about the fire incident earlier.

"As well as could be expected," Trowa answered carefully.

"Which is not well at all..." Duo fell in. After exchanging a careful look with Sally to make sure it was safe to talk, they told her about the Wing pilot's reaction to the news of his eviction – and rather reluctantly tried to explain their behaviour towards him before her arrival. Sally only groaned and buried her head in her hands.

"Oh dear. If you do make a mess, you're sure to be thorough, aren't you..."

Both boys looked at her expectantly, hoping for a better explanation of Heero's previous behaviour than Wufei had got, but Sally considered herself bound by her Hippocratic oath (and had that not been reason enough, the thought that Heero would probably kill her, if she told them all the ugly details of the bit she knew, certainly was). She did realize, however, that they were truly concerned that the reclusive pilot would leave Earth to comply with J's order. After a moment's thought she told them not to worry.

"Just show him that you care. Keep an eye on him, give him a hug. And I think I might just have an idea how to keep him grounded..."

The two ex-pilots left soon after that. They were still in the dark about Sally's mysterious plan, though.

"Give him a hug," Duo muttered, still unable to get over the idea. "Doesn't she know that he's about as huggable as a cactus on a good day? And right now his prickles are about a mile long..."

Trowa did not even bother trying to answer Duo's mumbled ramblings...

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Around the same time in Sanq, a certain former queen of the world had the rare pleasure of receiving two owls at once. One was black and so grumpy she quickly relieved him of his burden first. That it puzzled her slightly was an understatement. The message read: "MOK1". Confusedly Relena shook her head and turned to the second owl. This letter came from Quatre, explaining that Heero was alive and well. Although the message from the Winner heir was more detailed than the first one, he kept everything rather vague, as she noticed. Still, after she had read, she finally understood the other one.

Only Heero... Throwing both messages into the fire to erase all evidence, she shook her head fondly, relieved that everything seemed well with the boys.

Of course she had no way of knowing that, in the meantime, at Hogwarts the heat had already gone up again, quite literally...

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When Heero arrived at the headmaster's office, those already present were just about giving up hope of finding the fire-raiser. It had been a long day and so far none of the students had seemed a likely candidate. They did not expect that to change now. Maybe the Pyromagus was none of the students, after all.

The wet hair seemed to explain why the boy had taken so long to arrive. He was fairly pale – pretty much like everyone else who had passed through this office on this strange day. Still, he gave a very different impression from everyone else. The others had all seemed more or less frightened by the whole situation, intimidated for having to face the Headmaster himself and the stern Deputy Headmistress, or simply confused by everything that was happening – in other words, the effects of the day's events had been clearly notable. This boy, however, appeared to be annoyed more than anything. Apart from that, no other emotion could be deducted from his demeanour.

Minerva McGonagall prided herself in being a good judge of character. She knew her pupils fairly well and she easily saw through new ones, but she had to wonder if she had been fooled by this one. At first the cat Animagus had thought the boy shy and harmless, but had quickly changed her opinion in that respect. Reserved seemed more like it, with the ability to act assertive whenever he wanted to. And if she wasn't wrong (which she rarely was), he was a talented wizard with a cunning mind. All in all, these were no bad qualities, yet there was always something about him that left her unsettled, something she could not quite name. Right now, the alarm bells in her head were ringing, although she simply could not tell why. His hands hidden in his long sleeves, Heero held himself very upright, but his movements were very fluid – she suddenly could imagine him as a panther on the prowl. His eyes were alert, but gave nothing away. They seemed to take in everything, analyzing it coldly. While she had got to know him as unapproachable at best, she had never quite seen him like this. Although the circumstances would have been intimidating to most, he seemed very much in control of the situation, as if nothing could get to him.

"Strange," was the thought that crossed Minerva McGonagall's mind, while Remus Lupin groaned inwardly "Oh dear... This is going to be a tough nut to crack..."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as good-naturedly as ever, though, and he quickly resumed his questioning. To Minerva's surprise the boy did not hesitate in answering. He related the facts they had already heard numerous times now, in a very concise, matter-of-fact way, without revealing the slightest unease – or any other feeling, for that matter. It did not seem so much like he had prepared himself and learned the story by heart, but he was sounding so detached that it definitely looked like he did not give a damn.

Which he probably didn't, Minerva thought and quickly glanced over to Lupin to see what he was thinking. Wait a minute, was the werewolf sniffing the air...? No, she must have imagined it. Unlike her, however, the young teacher did not seem appalled with the way the boy acted, but appeared very thoughtful and did not contribute anything to the interrogation until...

"Fine, Heero, we heard all these facts before, but was there anything else you noticed, something unusual you felt?"

The boy's impassive look turned into a glare at the question, but after a silent battle of wills (Minerva would have to congratulate her former student for his firmness, as she was certain that she, who was known to be quite intimidating herself, would have caved), the boy told them somewhat reluctantly, but with about as much emotion as before, that he had indeed felt a bit strange when the fire started. Nauseous. Dizzy.

Now that was something none of the others had reported and... Of course! Suddenly the Transfiguration teacher knew exactly what was wrong. The boy's expression always seemed unreadable. Now, however, his eyes were downright _guarde__d_. He answered too readily to be actively trying to conceal something, but there was definitely something he did not want to _tell_. Ha, and what else could it be...

While Dumbledore kept prodding the boy gently, Minerva also kept an eye on the resident werewolf who suddenly looked knowingly and at the same time like he had something to hide (pretty much like back when he had tried to cover for his troublesome friends at school). If Minerva had not already suspected it, she was now fairly certain what was going on here.

Finally, Dumbledore seemed to have enough and he asked the boy to wait outside – obviously the Headmaster had caught on as well. The others had been allowed to leave right away...

"So..." Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, looking very satisfied with himself. "What do you think?"

"It's him." It was out, before the Deputy Headmistress could stop herself, but Dumbledore only stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"Indeed? Hmhm..."

"That's all you have to say?" Minerva was quite surprised and turned to raise a questioning eyebrow towards Remus Lupin.

The werewolf shifted in his seat somewhat uneasily. "Are you certain?"

"Aren't you?" Minerva felt a bit sheepish to have snapped like that, but Dumbledore only chuckled, so she continued. "He's hiding something. And the way he acted... He didn't even have the decency to feel remorse."

"Oh, but he never shows many emotions. He hates to appear weak and that is probably what he tried to keep to himself, although..." The werewolf slumped his shoulders as he realized he could not convince the head of Gryffindor, nor himself. "Despite having obviously taken a shower, he still had a bit of an ashen smell around him... stronger than any of the others. And he was the only one to have those symptoms he described..."

"So what are we going to do about him?" At her question both professors looked expectantly at Dumbledore who smiled his infuriating, noncommittal smile.

"Oh, we are going to have a bit of an eye on him. Don't you think?"

"Albus, you can't just let him get away with that!" Minerva was almost speechless.

"But Minerva, it was obviously an accident," Remus tried to reason.

"Oh yeah, and what are we going to do when the next _accident_ of this kind happens?"

"You are right of course," Dumbledore mused. "I guess we'll have to teach him how to control his powers first."

Remus Lupin nodded, but the Deputy Headmistress was obviously not satisfied with this sort of answer.

"You can't be serious."

While there was a certain pun on the tip of the werewolf's tongue, he suppressed it quickly. Now was not the time and place.

"Look, he had no control and he wanted to defend his friend. There is no reason to believe it will happen again, once he understands his gift."

"I have yet to see that he has any friendly feelings, honestly. And what about those people in the Forbidden Forest?"

"Ah," Dumbledore cut in. "But we don't know that was him. And the interesting point there is – what were these people doing in there in the first place?"

"And what was one of our pupils doing there? Are you actually forgetting that we are dealing with a Pyromagus here? Do I need to remind you that there has yet to be a Pyromagus who was not drawn to the dark side? And that some of the scholars do actually rank them amongst the Dark Creatures?"

"So?" Remus was obviously miffed because of what she was implying.

"There is no need to look like that, Remus dear. No offense, but that kid is nothing like you. You were always a good and kind child. With him, I've been wondering the whole time what was wrong with him, but now I know – there is always a hint of darkness in his eyes."

"Minerva, that's all prejudice. Of course, you can expect to see some darkness in his eyes. Just think about what he's been through..."

Minerva hated the slightly hurt expression in the werewolf's face, but she needed to make her point.

"What if he chooses to follow You-Know-Who's call? Even if he doesn't – we might have been able to limit the risks of having a werewolf on the loose, but how are we going to keep our students safe from a Pyromagus? " She overrode the objections both of her listeners were obviously trying to make. "All the more, if it is a Pyromagus who doesn't even know how to control himself."

There was a moment of silence. Then Albus Dumbledore pronounced his decision which Minerva seriously hoped he was not going to regret: "Well, then we will just have to teach him how to do that. Luckily, we have an expert on the Dark Arts here who is predestined for the job, don't you think?" He looked over to Remus Lupin who was apparently relieved by the outcome and more than willing to assist.

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Meanwhile, Heero was waiting outside the office, leaning against the wall. To any passerby it would seem like he had no care in the world, while on the inside he was waiting with bated breath. He knew they were onto him and that could only mean he would fail his self-imposed mission. The teachers had taken no precautions by casting a silencing spell since it should have been humanly impossible to overhear what they were saying from the outside.

This was Heero Yuy, however, and he could not help catching snippets of their conversation, without even trying hard. It only confirmed what the boy already knew. He had been too obvious and too straightforward. He had failed. They would throw him out and what then of his mission to help these people? He would have to return to J and he certainly did not want that. Unconsciously, he kept toying with the scabs on his hands, the only visible trace of his latest little fit that was already fading. He needed to control this... He had to convince THEM that there would be no repeat of this incident. So caught up in his own thoughts, Dumbledore's final decision inside slipped his notice and he was slightly surprised to be called back, even more so, when he perceived the encouraging smile on Lupin's face. He chose to ignore it and moved past him, his mask firmly in place. Nothing could faze the perfect soldier – and if it did, no-one would ever now...

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"Well, " Dumbledore said lightly. "Is there anything you have to say for yourself?"

Heero shook his head at which Professor McGonagall snorted inaudibly.

"See, he doesn't feel guilty at all..."

The Wing pilot only closed his eyes and silently counted to ten, before opening them again and declaring with strong emphasis:

"I. Did. Not. Do. Anything."

"No," Dumbledore stated good-naturedly. "But that does not mean that you don't feel like you caused something. Hmhm." He suckled on his lemon sweet. "You do, don't you?"

Heero only looked straight into the Headmaster's eyes and nodded silently. If the day before he had thought that his choices were becoming limited, it certainly looked like he was coming down to one now. And it was the one he was least happy with, although J would be immensely pleased...

"No need to stick your head in the sand. Professor Lupin here will try to help you get this under control so that no similar incident will happen again." Heero's eyes widened slightly, when he heard the old wizard's words. He was speechless, but obviously Dumbledore did not expect him to say anything as he continued on: "You lot make an interesting year... A Pyromagus, a Seer... I wonder what comes next. Oh, and not to forget, we already had a Parselmouth of course. That reminds me – please tell Harry to drop by at Professor Lupin's office when you get back to your house..."

The werewolf looked surprised at these words, but the old wizard simply went on: "You will start your first lesson tomorrow. I suggest we keep quiet about this for now. " The Headmaster looked at everyone, pleased to see no objections. "Well, let's call it a day, then."

Heero took this to mean he was dismissed, but just before he left the office, Dumbledore raised his voice again: "Oh, and one more thing." He looked seriously at the boy. "Never forget that there is always a choice."

While McGonagall and Lupin took this as a reference to Minerva's earlier comment about defecting to the Dark Lord, Heero wondered whether the old wizard was actually a mind-reader. He swiftly left.

Both teachers turned their questioning eyes to the Headmaster.

"Why is Harry supposed to visit me?" Remus asked what was on both their minds.

"Oh, I was thinking it was time for him to learn more about wandless magic. And since for both him and young Mister Yuy the basics will be the same, focusing the mind that is, I thought it would be a good idea to teach them together. I trust you are the right person for this job, Remus."

The werewolf shook his head disbelievingly and said simply: "I'll do my best."

After he had left, the Deputy Headmistress looked at Dumbledore sternly: "Give me a really good reason why this is a good idea. Do you really want to keep quiet..."

"Minerva, allow the kid to prove himself. And for one, it is simply much more time-effective this way..."

The Animagus' eyes lit up suddenly: "Of course, and then Harry knows exactly who he's dealing with..."

Looking like she had just solved a riddle, the Deputy Headmistress turned to leave with a rare smile, almost running into Sally Po who apparently came to report on Fys. Dumbledore only looked after her confusedly: "Well, that could be an added bonus, of course..."

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In the Gryffindor common room, the crowd was slowly dispersing. Word had come around that the sixth years would be exempted from lessons on the next day in order to recover from the shock. Those who had witnessed the incident were invited to come to the nurses for counselling if they felt like they needed it. The other years were expected to attend their classes as usual.

Hermione was just explaining to some younger students (a few of the older ones were listening with interest as well) what a Pyromagus actually was.

"You know that virtually any wizard can create fire with the help of his wand, but there are only few who are able to generate it through wandless magic. And in both cases it takes a lot of effort and, well, the flames are hard to control because fire is such a fickle element. A full-grown Pyromagus has a strong affinity with fire, though. It is said that in the Middle Ages there were one or two instances were one of them managed to wipe out a whole city in a blaze within a matter of seconds. Apparently Pyromagi not only have a connection with fire, but are also closely linked with the dark side... Does nobody actually ever pay attention to these things in class or read up on them!" Without taking a breath she snapped the last sentence in direction of the older students who quickly busied themselves with other stuff, while the younger ones kept looking at her admiringly. Once Hermione noticed this, she blushed, huffed and quickly turned her full attention back to her friends sitting around her.

Ginny started whining: "Can't we just change the topic now. I've really heard enough of fires and Pyromagi for one day..."

Her twin brothers were only too glad to pick up the thread: "Yes, let's talk about things that are more fun..." "...like Quidditch."

They looked at each other before smiling wickedly to their audience.

"You know, we asked McGonagall today to be commentators for this year and she has not declined yet."

"That only means you'll have to be good now, otherwise she certainly will..." Ron said.

"Actually, when will the try-outs be held?" Duo, who had returned with Trowa a short while before, asked curiously.

"If nothing weird happens, they should be on Saturday..." Harry answered just as Heero Yuy walked up to them.

"Potter, you're supposed to go to Lupin's office," the colonial stated in a gruff voice, before turning on his heel and walking up the stairs to their dorm.

"Oh well, see you later then," Harry said to the others as he got up. Neither he nor any of the others heard Duo whispering to Trowa: "I sure hope Sally's other plan works. I value my life too highly to find that idea of a hug appealing right now..."

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Harry arrived at the same time as Remus Lupin himself. The werewolf simply smiled at him and opened the door. Inside everything was dark.

"Sirius?" the young professor asked into the room, but it was obvious that his mate was not there. He had hardly seen the Animagus all day. Sighing quietly, he let Harry in, but it was not quietly enough for the boy not to hear.

"Is something wrong?" the young Gryffindor asked. "We were supposed to meet him earlier today, but he wasn't here either."

There was a pause before the werewolf answered thoughtfully: "No, I don't think so..."

"Have you been fighting?" the boy asked unthinkingly. He bit his lip sheepishly, but could not help being curious.

Harry need not have worried. The other only snorted, before answering: "Yeah, that too, but it's nothing to be worried about. Quarrelling is part of a relationship, too, you know." Remus used his wand to light the room and prepare some tea. "You just have to make up afterwards. And you have to keep talking about things. That was what broke us apart the first time around and I can assure you, we won't let that happen again..."

Sirius chose that moment to reappear.

"Hey there, stranger. Long time no see."

Harry had to laugh when the Animagus hugged him like he hadn't seen him in weeks.

"What's up?"

"Oh, just the usual. But what has been going on here this afternoon? The whole castle has been in an uproar."

"You haven't heard yet?" Harry asked. "There was fire incident that turned one of the new Slytherins into a human torch. They say we have a Pyromagus on the loose here. By the way, did you find out anything?" Harry's curiosity was obvious as he directed the question at the best source of information available at present.

Remus leisurely took another sip of his tea, before he answered deliberately: "Not officially."

Sirius settled into the chair next to him and poured himself a cup. "And unofficially?"

"Unless you two swear to keep this a secret, there were no results unofficially, either."

Both godfather and godson objected unanimously: "Hey, come on. You know you can trust us."

The werewolf simply grinned: "We cannot have Snape throwing a fit, if he finds out that a Gryffindor accidentally harmed one of his own, can we?"

Harry's eyes went wide: "So, it's true. And it's a Gryffindor? But surely it's not Duo, is it?"

"No, it is Heero." The werewolf looked sharply at his mate."And before I hear anything else – it was an accident, am I making myself clear?"

The other two nodded, dumbfounded. It actually made sense, Harry thought, or at least it would explain a lot...

"Anyway," Remus continued. "The problem was that the kid had no idea of his abilities and thus could not control the fire. It was unintentional. And therefore Dumbledore asked me to teach him how to control it – and at the same time teach you wandless magic."

"What?" Harry was flabbergasted. "Oh, wow."

"And please don't tell anyone about it."

"Not even Ron and Hermione?" Harry wondered how he was supposed to achieve that.

"Of course you can tell your friends about your extra lessons, just keep quiet about Heero being there and why."

"Oh, alright."

Remus could see on the young Gryffindor's face that he needed to elaborate further: "Heero really does not need any rumours flying about him. He's already something of an outsider as it is, imagine how quickly he would become a pariah in this school. And believe me – I know what I'm talking about."

Thoughtfully Harry nodded, but his mind quickly returned to the most important topic.

"Wandless magic, wow."

"Still, I really don't think it's a good idea," Sirius cut in surprisingly quietly.

"Why not? The sooner Harry learns the better. We don't know when Voldemort will decide to act. Better be prepared," Remus countered.

"No, not that. I mean... That Yuy kid is dangerous. What if anything happens to Harry... or you, for that matter?" The Animagus' unease was reflected on his face.

Harry, too, turned to the werewolf expectantly. "Yeah, even Hermione has started to mistrust him. Is there something we should know about him – apart from being a Pyromagus, I mean?"

"It's not like he can help being that," the so asked man replied, almost exasperated.

"I know – it's just that Hermione seems to notice such things sooner than us guys."

"Sure," the young teacher smiled. "But she has been wrong before, hasn't she..."

Harry just smiled back, knowing exactly that the werewolf referred to the situation in the Shrieking Shack back in third year.

"There are many things wrong with Heero," the other resumed. "None of which make him a bad person. He has been through a lot, and that makes him somewhat... different."

While this explanation seemed to put Harry at ease, Sirius tried to hide a snort behind his cup of tea, but of course nothing escaped Remus' hearing.

"You could always join us, _Snuffles_," Remus teased good-naturedly.

"Uh, I don't believe that would be a good idea either..." Sirius definitely had a sheepish look on his face, so Harry could not help asking why.

"He knows."

"What?"

"He knows that I am a dog Animagus..."

Remus looked at his mate sharply: "How?"

Come to think of it, Sirius did not really know. How had the boy made the connection from wanted murderer Sirius Black to Remus's dog Snuffles? Since he was unable to answer that question, they changed the topic. At the end of the day, Sirius Black had to concede that Remus would teach both Harry and that kid and simply hope that everything would work out.

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At Harry's return, the Gryffindor common room had emptied considerably. Of his friends, only Hermione, Ron and the twins remained. Everyone else had retired.

"So?" Ron asked looking up from a game of wizard chess in which he was obviously crushing the combined efforts of his brothers.

"Seems like I'll be getting more private lessons. Remus is going to tutor me in wandless magic, can you believe it?" Harry hated keeping things from his friends, especially Ron. But hey, the fact that he was getting these lessons _was_ the important information here, wasn't it?

"Bloody hell," even the twins were impressed.

"Good. About time they decided to become more active in preparing you for what is to come..." Hermione grumbled.

Harry only raised a questioning eyebrow at the Weasley's.

"I guess it's her time of the month," Fred quipped and was rewarded with a smack to the back of his head, before Hermione stomped up the stairs to her dorm.

"Maybe she's a bit jealous?" Ron wondered.

"A bit of that too, probably," Fred supplied. "But I think she's simply stressing out over everything. School. Her DOGP project. The fact that being top of the class did not suffice in putting out that fire. Last but not least, she seems to be coming over to our side where our suspicions of the spy are concerned, and you know she hates being wrong..."

Both his brothers and Harry simply stared at him.

"When did you start understanding girls?"

For once Fred had no comeback, but his ears were colouring slightly.

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That night Harry woke up after tumbling out of his bed. Sighing deeply he carefully untangled his limbs from the jumble of his bedclothes. He had been haunted by almost the same dream as last time – only this time Voldemort had not been present and he could very clearly remember the image of an older man who did not seem to have eyes... It had been a creepy vision, he was just glad he had been able to stop himself from screaming – he would not have wanted to wake everyone again. Straightening up, Harry almost jumped when his eyes met with the calm look from midnight blue eyes which in the scarce moonlight seemed to glow eerily in a much too pale face. For a long moment the two boys just stared at each other silently, before the one sitting on the window sill turned away to look outside.

Harry knew his godfather would consider him crazy, but he felt strangely safe as he crawled back into bed, despite everything. It was almost as if the colonial were keeping watch over everybody. With that thought he drifted back into a comfortable sleep that was not disturbed by any dream.

Heero indeed spent the night keeping a sort of watch, although it would not quite meet Harry's definition of the term. The Wing pilot simply could not sleep and how could he even dare to try, when there was no certainty that this new "ability" would not get out of hand? As a soldier he needed to be able to trust in his instincts and rely on his skills – if he could not even do that, how much use would he be to anybody? Could he risk endangering all the people around him or wouldn't it be better to just leave and give himself over to either the authorities or J? Maybe they were right after all and he was too much of a hazard to be allowed freedom. He could only hope that Remus knew how to help him get this under control...

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On the next morning, the sixth years enjoyed a slow breakfast while everyone else returned to the usual hustle and bustle. With Heero gone to god knew where and Harry making off for his private lesson, the rest of the gang prepared for a quiet morning in the Gryffindor common room. Or at least that was what Duo thought, but before he could come up with some excuse, he found himself cornered by the remaining members of their little gang.

"So," Hilde put her arm around his shoulder to keep him from running off. "You had enough time to prepare yourself – now out with it."

"Huh?" was Duo's first reaction, before he realized what she was getting at. "Oh, come on."

"Please?" Quatre tried the puppy-eyes approach and Duo found it hard to refuse.

"Fine." He tried to gather his thoughts. "You heard Fys talking about the Velvet Cage, didn't you? Anyone ever heard of it?"

As to be expected, Hilde, who had not been there in time to have heard what had started the fight, was the only one who nodded.

"Yeah, a brothel with a high-class façade..."

The others hung on her lips.

"Exactly. It's one of the most infamous places on L2 – and believe me, there are a lot of infamous places on that colony..." Duo took a deep breath. "I don't know whether you are all aware of it, but I_am_ from L2 and I was what people like to call a street rat."

He realized that now he had everyone's attention and while he usually did not mind that, right now he would prefer to be anywhere else.

"I practically grew up on the streets there and believe me, it was hard. And as if the hunger and cold and sicknesses weren't bad enough, there were those we used to call 'hunters'." Duo paused to find the right words.

"Whenever people we knew vanished, it could be presumed that they were either dead or had been caught by the hunters. And in that case they were as good as dead. These people were sent out by the Velvet Cage. On the streets that place was actually nicknamed Heaven and Hell, because upstairs it was said to be heaven for the customers with all the corresponding pleasures and downstairs it was hell for those unfortunate enough to get stranded there. The authorities never interfered, but it was a well known fact that, as long as the customers had enough dough, they could live out their most perverted fantasies, even kill during some s&m scenario. That's why you always had to be careful if you were not too ugly, and even then you could not be safe, maybe someone had fetish for that and a lot of money to spare, too. You might be lucky if you were pretty enough to be 'heaven' material – if not you could be certain to land in hell even before your death. We were fair game – they could simply pick us up and – apart from a few friends who were just as powerless – no-one would miss us. A cheap and available reservoir whenever they needed to stock up on 'staff' for their hellish games. Very few people escaped from there..."

The others were shocked speechless. Neville was as white as a sheet. Since nobody uttered a word, Duo continued: "I was lucky. I never got into contact with that place, but I knew a guy who knew a guy who had to dispose of the bodies and said it wasn't pretty." He took another deep breath. "So when that git made those stupid remarks I just snapped. Yeah, that's it..."

Duo looked to the ground. He wrecked his brains to lighten the mood, even if it were just his own, but he drew a blank and the others were all in deep thought. Hilde just hugged him and did not let go. After a while spent in subdued silence, everyone seemed to decide that, now that the morning had been ruined, they might just as well get some homework done...

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TBC

There's more to come in the new year. For now: Merry Christmas everybody!

12/23/2007


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